Comet of the Century Dazzles Santa Catarina: How to Catch a Glimpse of This Spectacular Celestial Event

Comet C/2023 A3 (Tsuchinshan-ATLAS), which reached its closest approach to the Sun on Friday (27) and was nicknamed “Comet of the Century”, was visible in cities between different in Santa Catarina in the early hours of this. Saturday (28).

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Photos taken in Florianópolis, Biguaçu and Chapecó show the star. This Saturday morning (28), around 5 am, the comet was visible to the naked eye in the state capital, including the tail. Whoever looked to the East, where the sun rises, had the privilege. What happened at the time was called perihelion, the closest point to Astro-Rei. Comets are large objects of dust and ice that surround the Sun.

– Simple binoculars with 10 times magnification already allowed easy viewing – said Alexandre Amorim, from Florianópolis, a self-taught amateur astronomer since 1989.

Amorim’s main activity is visual astronomical observation. From 2007 to 2009, he was the South Regional Coordinator of the National Committee of Non-Professional Astronomers for the International Year of Astronomy (IYA2009) activities.

Since 2009, Amorim has been working at the Astronomical Research and Observation Center “José Brazilício de Souza”, editing the Observe Magazine! He is the author of the books “O Astrônomo Brazilício” (2012) and “Anuário Astronômica Catarinense” (editions from 2015 to 2024).

The scholar explains that in Brazil, this comet has been recorded since January by six observers. Amorim is one of them. In the second half of September, the comet began to be better observed visually, according to the researcher. The ability to see the comet, however, depends on visibility conditions and the weather is a determining factor.

– In addition, the comet will be near the side of the sun – observing Amorim.

A great place to visit in Florianópolis

If you missed the chance, do not despair: from this Sunday (29) until next Friday (4), it will still be possible to see the comet. If you are in Florianópolis, you can look for the beaches on the east side of the island, such as Morro das Pedras.

– Better, between 4:45 am and 5:15 am, because the arrival of today tends to make it less visible because of the light – explains Amorim.

Amorim invites those interested in learning a little more about the comet in a specific website. The researcher comments on the nickname “Comet of the Century”:

– The term “Comet of the Century” is not used by the community of astronomical observers, because it suggests emotions and causes people to be disappointed (in terms of size and visual ability) with the appearance of the comedy – he explained.

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