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Comet Tsuchinshan–ATLAS
Comet Description:
The Tsuchinshan-ATLAS is a comet from the Oort cloud discovered by the Purple Mountain Observatory on 9 January 2023 and independently found by ATLAS (Asteroid Terrestrial-impact Last Alert System) in South Africa on 22 February 2023. The comet will pass perihelion at a distance of 0.39 AU (58 million km; 36 million miles) on 27 September 2024, when it could become visible to the naked eye.
This comet has a retrograde orbit, laying at an inclination of 139° and will have its perihelion on 27 September 2024, at a distance of 0.391 AU. The closest approach to Earth will be on 12 October 2024, at a distance of 0.47 AU. The comet does not approach close to the giants planets (Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune) of the Solar System.
The orbit is weakly bound to the Sun before entering the planetary region of the Solar System and due to planetary perturbations, the outbound orbit will have a greater eccentricity than the inbound orbit and is not bound to the Sun as it is weakly hyperbolic, which weakly hyperbolic trajectory may or may not result in the comet being ejected from the Solar System.
By the year 2237, the comet Tsuchinshan–ATLAS is expected to be 200 AU from the Sun.
Comet Specifications:
Comet Designation:
C/2023 A3 (A10VYR)
Discovery:
Discovery Date/By:
09 January 2023
Purple Mountain Observatory
Discovered Date/By:
27 February 2023
ATLAS
Orbital Characteristics:
Orbital Type:
Possible Ejection
Retrograde Orbit
Orbital Period:
millions of years
Inclination:
139.1°
Aphelion:
90,000
AU (inbound)
Date of Last Perihelion:
Unknown
Date of Next Perihelion:
27 September 2024
Physical Characteristics:
Comet Dimensions:
Comet Magnitude:
Apparent Magnitude:
4.1
Object it Orbits:
Sun
The 2024 Passage:
The position of comet C/2023 A3 in August and September 2024 with the expected apparent magnitudes, will be located in the constellation Leo between the two stars 55 and 57 Leonis about six degrees south of the ecliptic at the beginning of August. Later in August, the comet will then moves towards the constellation Sextans.
Then, with increasing apparent brightness, it will turn back toward the constellation Leo in the second half of September at maximum southern ecliptic latitude, which will be just under 14 degrees of arc.
During October 2024, the comet will be located in the southernmost tip of the constellation Leo about ten degrees south of the ecliptic and will move in the first half of the month with decreasing apparent brightness across the constellation Virgo.
It will then move into the western head of the constellation Serpens Caput, and will next move across the constellation Ophiuchus. By the end of October 2024, the comet will reach a northern ecliptic latitude of just over 27 degrees of arc, and therefore, (in the second half of October) the comet should be well visible on the western horizon after sunset.
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