Comet Tsuchinshan-ATLAS stuns in photos at perihelion
The comet, formally known as C/2023 A3, was first discovered in January 2023 by Purple Mountain Observatory in China’s Jiangsu Province. (The name Tsuchinshan comes from an older transliteration of Zijinshan, the Chinese word for Purple Mountain.)
Since then, it has been working its way into the inner solar system, reaching its closest point to the Sun — or perihelion — on Sept. 27.
In the coming days, the comet will move into conjunction with the Sun, meaning it will be lost in our star’s glare. But it will reemerge as an evening object in mid-October, around the same time as when it makes its closest approach to Earth on Oct. 12.
The following photographs were taken when Tsuchinshan-ATLAS was at or near perihelion on Sept. 27, or shortly before. Submit your photos to readergallery@astronomy.com, and we will add our favorite shots to this story.
Comet rises up over the horizon just before orbital sunrise with aurora streaking by. 50mm, 1.2, 1/4s, ISO 6400 pic.twitter.com/SlwWdFwQgH
