Rare spectacle Now you can see comet "Tsuchinshan Atlas" at its best
The rare spectacle of a comet passing by with a long tail can be seen particularly well at the weekend and at the beginning of the week. In Switzerland, Friday evening probably offers the best opportunity due to the weather.
Image: dpa
Tsuchinshan Atlas will appear on the evening horizon in the west from October 10.
Image: dpa
It has previously been seen in numerous other places around the world, such as here near the western Japanese city of Setouchi.
Image: IMAGO/Kyodo News
... or in Molfetta, Italy.
Image: IMAGO/NurPhoto
Tsuchinshan Atlas is above the night sky in western Java in Indonesia.
Image: IMAGO/NurPhoto
The rare spectacle of a comet passing by with a long tail can be seen particularly well at the weekend and at the beginning of the week. In Switzerland, Friday evening probably offers the best opportunity due to the weather.
Image: dpa
Tsuchinshan Atlas will appear on the evening horizon in the west from October 10.
Image: dpa
It has previously been seen in numerous other places around the world, such as here near the western Japanese city of Setouchi.
Image: IMAGO/Kyodo News
... or in Molfetta, Italy.
Image: IMAGO/NurPhoto
Tsuchinshan Atlas is above the night sky in western Java in Indonesia.
Image: IMAGO/NurPhoto
Clear visibility and an unobstructed view over the landscape? Then it's worth taking a look at the evening sky at the weekend. It's a rarely seen astronomical spectacle.
No time? blue News summarizes for you
- If visibility is clear, there is a chance to see the comet Tsuchinshan-Atlas in Switzerland this weekend.
- The opportunity to observe a comet with a tail in the night sky with the naked eye is rare.
- Tsuchinshan Atlas was discovered in early 2023. The name comes from the telescopes in China and South Africa that first spotted it.
At the weekend and at the beginning of the week, it is worth taking a look at the evening sky if you have a clear view as far as the horizon: there you can see the rare spectacle of a comet passing by with a long tail. Experts recommend choosing a place with a good view of the western horizon - i.e. without buildings - after sunset.
This is where the evening star, the bright planet Venus, shines. If you stretch out your arm, the comet Tsuchinshan-Atlas is a good two fists to the right of Venus, as Uwe Pilz from the Association of Stargazers in Germany explains. Another possible measure is the distance between the thumb and little finger of the wide-spread hand. "The arm must be held straight, i.e. as far away from the eye as possible."
Friday probably the best day for observation
In the coming days, the orbit of the comet Tsuchinshan-Atlas will reach its closest point to the Earth. Due to the weather, Friday is likely to be the best day in Switzerland to see the celestial body with the naked eye.
This is according to Stefan Scherrer from MeteoSwiss. The Federal Office of Meteorology and Climatology expects the clouds, which will dominate the first half of the day, to clear towards the evening. There should therefore be a good chance of seeing the comet in large parts of Switzerland. "The clouds shouldn't be much of a problem," said Scherrer.
In general, if you are serious about observing comets, look for a place with little ambient light. Elevated locations are also recommended. Those who spend time in cities or other places with many light sources have rather poor prospects.
70 million kilometers away
From today's perspective, it may also be possible to see Tsuchinshan Atlas on Tuesday. The weather should improve by then. Saturday and Monday, on the other hand, offer gloomy prospects. According to meteorologists, it will be very cloudy and rainy on both sides of the Alps. On Sunday, those in western Switzerland, Valais or Ticino can be the most optimistic. This is because it will clear up from the west. The north and east of Switzerland are likely to remain relatively cloudy.
Comet Tsuchinshan-Atlas is also known as C/2023 A3. When its orbit reaches its closest point to the Earth in the next few days, it will be around 70 million kilometers away - that is just under half the distance between the Earth and the Sun. According to astronomers, it can theoretically be seen best from October 12 to 14. However, the aforementioned weather in Switzerland puts a spanner in the works for amateur astronomers.
Tsuchinshan Atlas was discovered in early 2023. The name comes from the telescopes in China and South Africa that first spotted it. It is one of the non-periodic comets that only come close to Earth again - if at all - after long periods of time. The comet originates from the Oort Cloud, a spherical collection of objects at the outermost edge of the solar system.
Tail of dust and gas
The core of Tsuchinshan-Atlas is a kind of dirty lump of ice a few kilometers across. The comet originates from the Oort Cloud, a collection of objects at the edge of the solar system. The heat of the sun vaporizes some of the ice, and the resulting haze of sunlit dust and fluorescent gas forms the visible head and tail of the comet, which can be many millions of kilometers long.
The last comet with a brightness comparable to Tsuchinshan Atlas was Neowise in summer 2020.
Astronomers assume that Tsuchinshan Atlas orbits the sun every 80,000 years or so. The last time our ancestors from the Palaeolithic Age were able to marvel at it.
With material from the news agencies dpa and sda.
dpa
