Image of the comet captured in the Republic of North Macedonia.
Photo: EFE – GEORGI LICOVSKI
In recent weeks, at different points on Earth, comet A3 Tsuchinshan–ATLAS A3 or C/2023 A3, also popularly called the “comet of the century,” has been observed.
This comet probably only enters the Solar System once, since, unlike other comets such as Halley’s, it is not periodic. In addition, it is characterized by being very bright.
Since September 27, A3 Tsuchinshan It reached its perihelion, that is, its closest point to the Sun, but on October 12 it got closer to Earth. In slightly more technical terms, it is estimated that it was 0.56 astronomical units from our planet, which made it visible to the naked eye or with binoculars in the following days.
Here you can see it in this photograph taken from the state of Yucatán, in Mexico.
According to what astronomer Bill Cooke said in a NASA statement, the comet was expected to disintegrate during its passage close to the Sun, but it managed to “survive.” Here you can see it from Hungary.
It is expected that at the end of November, the comet will begin to move away from our planet and gradually lose its characteristic brightness. In the following image it can be seen from the Ecuadorian Andes, in the Pichincha volcanic complex.
The comet owes its name to the observatory that identified it last year: the Tsuchinshan, in China, and the ATLAS project. In the following two photographs, captured by Georgi Licovski in North Macedonia, you can see it in a little more detail.
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