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#comet

ramnath@nerdpol.ch
ramnath

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#COMET AT SUNSET: When the sun goes down tonight, step outside and look west. You might see a comet. "I was driving across Utah and spotted Comet Tsuchinshan-ATLAS through the windshield shortly after sunset on Oct. 12th," reports Brad Goldpaint. "I quickly pulled over at a rest stopand took this photograph."
"The comet was easily visible to the naked eye roughly 15 minutes before this 13-second exposure," says Goldpaint. "The Moon helped reveal the rugged canyons of the incredible landscape."
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https://spaceweather.com/

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ramnath@nerdpol.ch
ramnath

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#CME COULD HIT #EARTH AND #COMET T-ATLAS: SOHO coronagraphs are obtaining some remarkable images today. One of the brightest comets in decades, Comet Tsuchinshan-ATLAS (C/2023 A3), is passing through the field of view while the sun emits a series of bright CMEs. The first CME in this movie appears to be on course to hit both Earth and the comet:

Hurled into space by a powerful X2-class solar flare on Oct. 7th, the CME could strike the comet later today or perhaps early on Oct. 9th, The impact could actually rip off the comet's tail. The same thing happened to Comet Enke in April 2007. A broken tail is something astronomers should look for when Comet Tsuchinshan-ATLAS emerges from the sun's glare later this week.

According to a NASA model, the CME will graze Earth late on Oct. 9th or early on Oct. 10th. The impact could cause a another geomagnetic storm with auroras at mid-latitudes in the USA and Europe. NOAA analysts are looking at this CME now and may soon issue a refined forecast

#X-ray #Solar #Flares
6-hr max: C5 1750 UT Oct08
24-hr: X2 1913 UT Oct07

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ramnath@nerdpol.ch
ramnath

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oh la la #comet

COMET AND THE EIFFEL TOWER: Comet Tsuchinshan-ATLAS (C/2023 A3) is approaching the sun where most comets would be impossible to photograph. However, Tsuchinshan-ATLAS is not like most comets. Yesterday, French photographer Gwenael Blanck had no trouble capturing the comet over the tip of the Eiffel Tower:

"I first tried to take this picture on Sept. 28th, but I could barely see the comet," says Blanck. "It has brightened since then, so my attempt on Oct. 4th as a success. It wasn't visible to the naked eye, but was obvious on the camera screen and with binoculars."

The comet was about 15 degrees from the sun on Oct. 4th when Blanck photographed it. The distance is rapidly shrinking. At closest approach on Oct. 9th, Tsuchinshan-ATLAS will be only 4 degrees from the sun, so close that it could be dangerous to point cameras and telescopes at the comet.

Pro tip: Stand in the shadow of a building, blocking the sun but not the comet. Tsuchinshan-ATLAS could be bright enough to see in broad daylight like Comet McNaught in 2007.

X-ray Solar Flares
6-hr max: C9 0504 UT Oct06
24-hr: M2 2320 UT Oct05

https://spaceweather.com/

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ramnath@nerdpol.ch
ramnath

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MORNING #COMET TAIL: Dawn comet Tsuchinshan-ATLAS (C/2023 A3) is getting a little trickier to photograph. This week the comet is sinking back toward the sun, and its bright head is lost in the glare. Don't give up, though. The tail is still visible. David Blanchard sends this picture from Ashurst Lake near Flagstaff, Arizona:

"I was able to photograph the comet tail about 18 minutes before comet rise," says Blanchard. "The head of the comet was 3°37' below the horizon. The tail was 10° to 12° in length. I had hopes that the tail would be bright enough to be reflected in the lake and was successful."

This 'morning comet tail' should remain visible for several days to come. Soon, though, Tsuchinshan-ATLAS will pass between Earth and the sun, crossing entirely to the evening sky. En route, sunlight forward scattered by comet dust could amplify the comet's brightness, making it visible even in broad daylight. The next phase of the show begins on Oct. 9th

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ramnath@nerdpol.ch
ramnath

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#COMET TSUCHINSHAN-ATLAS IS HEADING FOR EARTH: Yesterday, Comet Tsuchinshan-ATLAS (C/2023 A3) made its closest approach to the sun. Now, its heading for Earth. Michael Mattiazzo photographed the comet on Sept. 27th rising over Lake Boga in Victoria, Australia:

Mattiazzo's time-lapse shows how minutes matter. The comet rises just before the sun. As it climbs out of low clouds and haze, the surrounding sky brightens rapidly. Actually seeing the comet with the human eye requires a lucky combination of altitude and waning darkness.

"Using 8x40mm binoculars, I estimate its magnitude was +2.8 with 7 degrees of tail," says Mattiazzo. "It was naked-eye visible, but not yet conspicuous. This will change over the next couple of weeks when, on Oct. 12, the comet has an Earth approach of only 70 million kms (0.43 AU)," he adds.

Comet Tsuchinshan-ATLAS could become very bright indeed. On Oct. 9th, it will pass between Earth and the sun. Sunlight will be forward scattered by comet dust, amplifying the comet's brightness to negative magnitudes. If the most optimistic predictions ( m < -5.0) come true, it could be visible even in broad daylight

https://spaceweather.com/

ramnath@nerdpol.ch
ramnath

enter image description here

Today, #Comet Tsuchinshan-ATLAS (C/2023 A3) is making its closest approach to the sun (0.40 AU). A surge of solar heat is making the comet visible in dawn twilight. Fritz Helmut Hemmerich sends this picture from #Tenerife, the Canary Islands:

"A small gap in the morning cloud over the Atlantic Ocean between Tenerife and Gran Canaria gave me the chance to get my first image of this promising comet," says photographer Fritz Helmut Hemmerich. "This is a 60x0.8s exposure using my Sony A7MIII camera (ISO 6000)."

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ramnath@nerdpol.ch
ramnath

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This morning in #Chile, Yuri Beletsky worried that low clouds would block his view. "We got really lucky when the comet suddenly appeared just above the cloud deck," he says.

"This is a stack of five 15 second exposures from my Nikon D810a camera," he says. "The view was spectacular."

Clearly, #Comet Tsuchinshan-ATLAS is living up to the hype. Later this week the comet will pass by the sun near the orbit of Mercury where it will receive a brightening dose of solar heat. Then it will proceed toward Earth for a close encounter (0.47 AU) and possible daytime apparition during the second week of October.
https://spaceweather.com/

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ramnath@nerdpol.ch
ramnath

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#Comet

Tsuchinshan-ATLAS at dawn on Sept. 21st over Swan Hill,

#Australia

BRGHT COMET IS APPROACHING EARTH (UPDATED): Comet Tsuchinshan-ATLAS (C/2023 A3) has just emerged from behind the sun, and its appearance has astronomers buzzing with anticipation. "The comet is brightening rapidly," says Australian astrophotographer Michael Mattiazzo, who has been monitoring the comet in dawn twilight:

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ramnath@nerdpol.ch
ramnath

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#COMET #TSUCHINSHAN-ATLAS HAS RETURNED: Comet Tsuchinshan-ATLAS (C/2023 A3) has just emerged from behind the sun, and its appearance has astronomers buzzing with anticipation. "The comet is brightening rapidly," says Australian astrophotographer Michael Mattiazzo, who has been monitoring the comet in dawn twilight:

Comet Tsuchinshan-ATLAS on Sept. 17th in dawn twilight over Swan Hill, Australia

"The comet was only 6 degrees above the horizon when I photographed it on Sept. 17th," says Mattiazzo. "Using 15x70mm binoculars, I estimated its visual magnitude to be +4.3."

This is very good news. Some astronomers predicted Comet Tsuchinshan-ATLAS would fall apart during its transit behind the sun. The fact that it is still intact and healthy means we could witness a bright naked-eye comet next month.

"Prospects remain excellent for a visually impressive evening display in mid-October," says Qicheng Zhang of the Lowell Observatory. "Weather permitting, the entire Northern Hemisphere should be able to see Comet Tsuchinshan-ATLAS."

Nick James of the British Astronomical Association just wrote an article anticipating the bright comet. "It makes its closest approach to Earth on October 12 when it will be 0.47 au away in the constellation of Virgo," he says. "There is a possibility that the comet will be at a negative magnitude as it emerges into the evening sky from Oct. 10th onwards."

"Negative magnitude" means the comet could be visible in broad daylight, especially on Oct. 9th when light from the nearby sun will be forward scattered by comet dust, amplifying the comet's brightness. "[Daylight photography of the comet] should only be attempted if you know what you are doing," cautions James. "The sun will be very close by and this is potentially a very dangerous observation, similar to observing Venus at inferior conjunction."

https://spaceweather.com/

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ramnath@nerdpol.ch
ramnath

Astronomers on Earth have not been able to track the #comet for weeks because of the sun's glare. STEREO-A's movie is reassurance that the comet has not broken apart despite predictions to the contrary.
https://ssd.jpl.nasa.gov/tools/sbdb_lookup.html#/?sstr=2023%20A3&view=VOP
Astronomer Qicheng Zhang of the Lowell Observatory is optimistic about the comet's chances:"It continues to brighten steadily, and is now up to magnitude 7," he says. "It also continues to display a very robust ion tail. There are zero signs that the nucleus is disintegrating."

This is good news for sky watchers. If #Tsuchinshan-ATLAS can hold itself together just a little longer, it will become a naked-eye object in late Sept. and October. Zhang predicts "the comet will brighten to magnitude +4 ± 1 at perihelion on Sept. 27th, to a daylight peak of -3 ± 1 near inferior conjunction on Oct. 9th, and subsequently produce a quite possibly 20+ degree dust tail visible under dark skies (Oct ~19) before fading away."

https://spaceweather.com/

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