It’s now or...in 26,000 years
by Dr Paul E Cizdziel
In this post, let me introduce Comet C/2023-A3 Tsuchinshan-Atlas. Already it is one of the brightest comets in many years, but until now has not been visible to us here in eastern Japan due to its location in the sky and the horribly cloudy summer weather conditions!
This will likely change soon with the arrival of Autumn weather and after the comet swings around the sun. It should become more readily visible to us from around October 14th (brightest) in the early evenings (~ 6:00 PM) while it closely trails the setting sun in the West.
It is not possible to accurately predict a comet’s brightness, but it may still be visible to the unaided eye in mid-October from darker sky areas like Izu or the Miura Peninsula (Jogashima!). Binoculars would be very helpful. Also, if you use a smartphone or digital camera (on a tripod), it is almost certain that you can photograph it with a long exposure, even from the Tokyo area (try 1/4 to 1 second depending on the light). I recommend you download the VIXEN COMET BOOK (free) smartphone application to aid in finding this and future comets in the night sky.
Comets are made of mostly ice and dust and rocky debris from the farthest reaches of the solar system that occasionally interact with other objects way out there and get redirected on a course toward the sun. The orbits are extremely elongated (called hyperbolic). One popular theory is that all of Earth’s water came from nearby passing comets or impacts over billions of years in our early planetary history. After this year’s encounter with the Tsuchinshan-Atlas comet, it will return and visit us again in about 26,000 years.
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A note from our Science Advisor, Dr Paul E Cizdziel
The Ad Astra room on the 10th floor of Laurus International Primary & Secondary School is primarily dedicated to space science education, an increasingly important part of modern education. This field of science covers everything from amateur photographers (like myself), to aerospace engineering, government agencies, research institutions, and a rapidly expanding and opportunity-rich commercial sector. My intention with this blog is to periodically provide information of general interest to students and parents on current topics across all these categories.
