COMET OF THE CENTURY | The comet is visible to the naked eye: this is how the comet of the century passed through Barcelona and Catalonia
He Comet C/2023 A3 (Tzuchinshan-Atlas)included in the “club of selected memorable comets”, was captured at dawn this Monday at the Fabre Observatory in Barcelona.
It has already been announced that the star will become visible to the naked eye because of its approach to our planet, therefore, given its exclusivity, it was nicknamed “comet of the century‘. The first sighting occurred on Friday, but a second occurred this Sunday, and a third occurred at dawn on Monday.
Astronomical experts say this one of the brightest comets of recent decades for several reasons: because of its proximity, because of its size, about 5 kilometers in diameterand since it’s probably aspiring startherefore, there is a lot of ice on its surface, which evaporates easily.
Discovered more than a year and a half ago.
This comet, emerging from the Orth cloud, was discovered in early 2023 by the Purple Mountain Observatory (China) and the Asteroid Impact Last Alert System (Atlas).
In addition, one of the features of the “comet of the century” is that its orbit is hyperbolic compared to the orbit of most, which is parabolic and goes in the opposite direction to the rotation of the planets orbiting the Sun.
Likewise, this event coincides with the timing of a small asteroid that will orbit the Earth for 56 days.
Retrograde orbit
Thus, the star could be seen from this Friday to Monday, September 30th. look to the east (where the sun rises) before dawn –as it was found to be passing perihelion and its brightness was greatest due to its proximity to the Sun, at approximately 58 million kilometers – and it will also be visible when its retrograde orbit (reverse to the rotation of the planets around the Sun) will cause it to pass in front of it.
Comet C/2023 A3 Tsuchinshan-Atlas, outlined in red and seen from the Fabre Observatory, September 30, 2024. / ALFONS PUERTAS / OBSERVATORY FABRA / RACAB
This will occur between October 10 and October 12, when it can be observed with the naked eye, looking west, at dusk, after sunset.
Best time to see a comet
In fact, it will be closest to Earth on October 12, at a distance of about half an astronomical unit, which is about 70 million kilometers– when there will be more time to enjoy it, although its brightness will gradually decrease.
“This is probably the best time to observe it, perhaps with the naked eye for the first few days or with binoculars or small telescopes,” experts say.
In fact, as it moves away, it will only be visible through larger telescopes until it cools down again and is lost in the far reaches of the solar system.