Comet Tsuchinshan-ATLAS is putting on a delightful early-morning display for those fortunate enough to catch a glimpse of the spectacle before it’s lost in the glare of the rising sun. But it’s not just the early birds with good seats to the show: astronauts on the International Space Station (ISS) are also enjoying the spectacle.
Here we take a look at some of the best photos of Comet Tsuchinshan-ATLAS as it soars through Earth’s skies, for the first time in about 80,000 years.
It’s still not too late to see the comet, as it will continue to be visible until Oct. 2 just before sunrise and then again between Oct. 12 and Oct. 30. It’s even possible that the best is yet to come, as the comet will make its closest approach to Earth on Oct. 13. For a detailed account of the comet’s location and whether it is visible from your location, check out these resources from The Sky Live.
Comet Tsuchinshan-ATLAS was initially discovered on Jan. 9, 2023, at the Purple Mountain Observatory (Tsuchinshan) in China, and was first thought to be an asteroid. However, on Feb. 22, 2023, the Asteroid Terrestrial-Impact Last Alert System (ATLAS) search program in South Africa confirmed it to be a comet.
Abhijit Patil captured this beautiful image of Comet Tsuchinshan-ATLAS soaring through the early morning sky above Lick Observatory, Mt. Hamilton, California, U.S, on Sept. 28, 2024 at 6:15 a.m. local time.
“After looking at all the photos about the new comet from the Southern Hemisphere and a lot of missing out, finally the comet started making its appearance in the Northern Hemisphere during twilight, looking east,” Patil told Space.com in an email.
Osama Fathi sent us this beautiful photo of Comet Tsuchinshan-ATLAS streaking over Mount Sinai, on the Sinai Peninsula of Egypt. Fathi captured this image on Sept. 28 at 5:30 a.m. local time.
“It is a 2,285-meter (7,497-foot) moderately high mountain near the city of Saint Catherine in the region known today as the Sinai Peninsula,” Fathi told Space.com in an email.
Photographer Mariana Suarez captured Comet Tsuchinshan-ATLAS lighting up the skies above Aguas Blancas, Uruguay at dawn on Sept. 28
Photographer Marcos del Mazo snapped Comet Tsuchinshan-ATLAS in the skies above Madrid, Spain, on Sept. 28.
In Italy, photographer Davide Pischettola captured Comet Tsuchinshan-ATLAS before dawn around 6 a.m. local time above Molfetta.
Photographer Lorenzo Di Cola captured this beautiful scene playing out before sunrise above Rocca Calascio castle and Santa Maria della Pietà church in Calascio, Italy, on Oct. 1.
The waning crescent moon is visible to the left of the image while Comet Tsuchinshan-ATLAS soars faintly to the right.
NASA astronaut Don Pettit shared an impressive photo of Comet Tsuchinshan-ATLAS from the ISS, showing it alongside a meteor burning up in Earth’s atmosphere.
“This looks like they are traveling in formation but are unrelated and only by chance did this get caught by camera,” Pettit wrote in a post on X.
Formation flight; comet C/2023-A3 (Tsuchinshan-ATLAS) and a meteor burning up in the atmosphere. This looks like they are traveling in formation but are unrelated and only by chance did this get caught by camera.This was taken on UT day 267 (Monday Sept. 23), and since then the… pic.twitter.com/D43wwqgin3September 30, 2024
“This was taken on UT day 267 (Monday Sept. 23), and since then the comet has gotten much brighter. I look forward to it in a few weeks where it should become spectacular, both from space and from Earth,” Pettit continued.
Pettit also captured Comet Tsuchinshan-ATLAS photobombing an image he captured of the ISS’ Canadarm. If you look very carefully, you can just about make out the comet close to the midpoint of the Canadarm.
Out of focus photo of the Canadarm being photobombed by Comet C/2023-A3 (Tsuchinshan-ATLAS). Do you see it?Nikon Z9, 50mm f1.2, 1/8th second, ISO 6400. pic.twitter.com/IH3Jk33yo7September 26, 2024
Meanwhile, fellow NASA astronaut Matthew Dominick captured a truly breathtaking image of Comet Tsuchinshan-ATLAS soaring above Earth as auroras danced below.
Comet rises up over the horizon just before orbital sunrise with aurora streaking by. 50mm, 1.2, 1/4s, ISO 6400 pic.twitter.com/SlwWdFwQgHSeptember 29, 2024
“Comet rises up over the horizon just before orbital sunrise with aurora streaking by,” Dominick wrote in a post on X.
Editor’s Note: If you get a great photo of Comet Tsuchinshan-ATLAS and would like to share it with Space.com’s readers, send your photo(s), comments, and your name and location to spacephotos@space.com.
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