Luminous comet Tsuchinshan-Atlas illuminates the autumn sky via Weilheim!

Luminous comet Tsuchinshan-Atlas illuminates the autumn sky via Weilheim!

Weilheim, Deutschland - In the coming days, the comet Tsuchinshan-Atlas will be seen in the evening sky with the naked eye. Helmut Hornung, an expert in astronomy from Weilheim, explains in an interview exactly what exactly can be expected.

The comet with the name C/2023 A3 (Tsuchinshan-Atlas) was first discovered on January 9, 2023 at the Purple Mountain Observatory in China. The celestial body has continuously made itself on its way to the sun. On September 27, 2024, he reached his sunny point with a distance of around 58 million kilometers. For comparison: the earth is around 150 million kilometers from the sun.

The comet is basically a small icy "dirty ball", which consists of water, dry ice, methane, ammonia and small dust and mineral particles. When he approaches the sun, a coma begins to create a coma that envelops the comet. The characteristic welding arises from the interactions between solar radiation and sun wind. A comet can form two welds - one made of gas and one from dust - which may be up to several hundred million kilometers long.

The best observation time

The best chances of observing the comet are expected to exist on October 12th and 13th, right after sunset when it is deep on the western horizon. At these times it will be at a distance of 71 million kilometers to Earth. It is important that the sky is clear and there are no disturbances due to artificial light. The observation window will be open between 7 p.m. and 8 p.m., and it remains to be seen how long the comet remains visible. The viewing window could extend until October 25th, after that only the observation with binoculars would be possible.

origin and train of the comet

According to Hornung, the comet probably comes from the Oortschen Cloud, a spherical ring from rubble that surrounds our solar system and protrudes up to one and a half light years into space. Tsuchinshan atlas is one of the non-periodic comets, which means that it is probably not on a regular orbit. It is therefore extremely unlikely that he will ever return. Hornung emphasizes that even if it comes to a reunion, this would happen after a very long time - a view that we will no longer experience in our lives.

The comet is therefore not only an astronomical event, but also an opportunity to experience the beauty and complexity of space up close. For more information and a detailed view of the comet Tsuchinshan-Atlas, interested readers can have a article at www.merkur.de read.