Have you seen the comet ATLAS yet? If you haven’t caught a glimpse of the bright, icy space rock from the edge of our solar system, it’s not too late. But you need to see it soon.
The coma and long tail of comet Gassan-ATLAS, also known as C/2023 A3 (Tsuchinshan-ATLAS), currently shines at magnitude +0.5. It is within the range that the human eye can understand. It is probably past its peak period now, but it is still just around the corner, and it will continue to be observable with the naked eye after sunset in the west, perhaps until the end of the week.
After that, it may only be visible through binoculars from late October to early November. After that you will need a telescope.
When and where Gassan Comet ATLAS can be seen
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To see the comet from the Northern Hemisphere, look west about 45 minutes after sunset. It lies just below and to the right of Arcturus, a bright red giant star in the constellation Bootes.
It’s hard to see at dusk. Fortunately, comet watchers can now wait up to two hours afterwards to catch a comet in a dark sky.
Care must be taken, as its visibility depends on the balance of three elements: its intrinsic brightness, the darkness of the sky around it, and the moonlight. However, even though it is currently higher in the night sky, it will inevitably become dimmer as it moves physically away.
The reason why the brightness of Comet Gassan Atlas changes
Comet Atlas Gassan appears high in the western sky every night and stays in the sky for a long time, but each night it fades as it moves away from the Earth and the sun.
On Monday, October 14th, it was 45.1 million miles (73 million km) from Earth and 25 degrees from the Sun; by Friday, October 18th, it was 52 million miles (84 million km) away and 40 degrees from the Sun. It will be a degree. solar. On Sunday, that distance will rise to 45 degrees and 57 million miles (92 million kilometers) from the Sun. This comet is really moving!
When is the last night that Comet Dochinzan-ATLAS can be seen?
Another problem this week is the bright moon. We are gradually moving towards the full moon “Hunter’s Moon” on Thursday, October 17th. Unfortunately, this moon is also looming over the night sky in 2024, as it is also the year’s brightest full moon, the “supermoon.” The darkness necessary to see the comet.
Unfortunately, on Friday, October 18th, the moon will rise later into the weekend. By Sunday, October 20th, the moon will no longer be relevant. This is just the right timing and will help ensure Sunday will be one of the darkest skies ever to see Comet Tuchinshan Atlas with the naked eye. This may be your last, but don’t lose hope if you miss it. Keep looking until Saturday, October 26th.
Author David H. Levy writes: Comet: Creator and Destroyer“Comets are like cats: They have tails and they do exactly what they want.” If you have good binoculars, you’ll have a chance to see Comet Atlas Gassan for a while.
