You'll have to look up this weekend to catch a glimpse of the comet of the century. Discovered in January 2023, comet Tsuchinshan-Atlas will be visible from October 11, 2024, just after sunset. It will be observable with thenaked eye or binoculars, towards the west-south-west horizon. We tell you all about it.
Astronomers are calling Tsuchinshan-Atlas the "comet of the century". With a nucleus between 20 and 40 kilometers in diameter, it survived its close passage to the Sun on September 27. This type of comet, visible to the naked eye, occurs only once or twice a century.
To enjoy this spectacle, simply look towards the west-south-west horizon just after sunset. The comet will be low on the horizon at first, rising slightly as the day progresses. Binoculars or a small telescope can enhance observation, but it will also be visible to the naked eye in optimal conditions.
It will be observable for several days, starting this Friday, October 11, 2024, and every evening until Monday, October 21, 2024. Peak brightness is expected around October 12. On Tuesday October 15, its dust trail will be particularly bright, forming a well-defined line, due to Earth's crossing of its orbital plane the previous day. After this date, it will start to lose its brightness as it moves further away from the Sun, making observation more difficult without specialized equipment.
Early sunsets and short twilights in October should facilitate observation. However, watch out for the Full Moon on October 17, which could reduce the comet's brightness, complicating its observation.
Comet Tsuchinshan-Atlas carries primordial material from the Oort cloud, a distant region of the solar system. By observing its tail of dust and gas, scientists hope to learn more about the composition of the primordial matter that formed our solar system. This "ball of ice" potentially holds a priceless scientific treasure. It offers us a unique opportunity to understand our own composition and examine what is known as primordial matter. Using telescopes, we could scrutinize the composition of the matter escaping from the cometary nucleus, analyze the molecules in the plume and, in this way, trace back the composition of the nucleus, revealing the fundamental elements that formed the objects of the solar system.
Clear weather is obviously essential for a good view of the comet. If the sky is clear, it will be possible to see it with the naked eye, or with binoculars in areas with little light pollution.
In short, for all you astronomy buffs out there, you'll have to look up this Friday evening to observe this exceptional comet.
