C/2023 A3 Tsuchinshan-ATLAS update

BEST TIME TO SEE: Late September, but most likely from mid-October onwards

As long as nothing catastrophic happens to it, comet C/2023 A3 Tsuchinshan–ATLAS will become a potentially naked-eye object in the coming weeks. C/2023 A3's orbit has it swinging through perihelion on 27 September, between Earth and the Sun, being closest to Earth on 12 October at a distance of 70.6 million kilometres. At the start of September, the comet is expected to be around seventh magnitude and from the UK will not be visible unless something unusually dramatic happens and it brightens by a large amount unexpectedly. At this time it'll be in our daylight sky, 8° south of the Sun. After mid-September, the comet is in the early morning sky, but very low before sunrise and not visible in a dark sky at all. Again, something very dramatic would…

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BBC Sky at Night United Kingdom (Digital) - 1 Issue, September 2024

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