The comet is expected to be visible from the UK for a short time next month
An ancient comet potentially last seen by Neanderthals is set to make its nearest approach to Earth in mid-October and it won’t return for another 80,000 years. The Oort Cloud comet, known as C/2023 A3 Tsuchinshan-ATLAS, was first discovered in 2023 as it made its way towards the inner solar system on a highly elliptical path that has never been recorded in human history before now.
This celestial body was spotted by astronomers at China’s Tsuchinshan – translated as “Purple Mountain” – Observatory and an ATLAS telescope stationed in South Africa. It has been named in tribute to both observatories involved in its discovery.
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The comet completed its closest journey around the sun last month, but there were concerns from scientists who believed it might disintegrate when faced with the sun’s scorching heat due to its volatile, icy makeup. It has since been discovered that the comet managed to survive relatively unscathed and is predicted to skim past Earth at about 44 million miles away on October 12.
NASA astronomer Bill Cooke, who leads the Meteoroid Environment Office at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama stated: “Comets are more fragile than people may realise, thanks to the effects of passing close to the sun on their internal water ice and volatiles such as carbon monoxide and carbon dioxide,”
He referenced past comets like Kohoutek which barreled into the inner solar system in 1973 and fragmented upon getting too near the Sun. Comet Ison also couldn’t withstand the intense solar heat and gravity during its close encounter in 2013, reports the Manchester Evening News.
Tsuchinshan-ATLAS is not predicted to be easily observable during daylight except possibly at twilight, according to Cooke. Historically, only nine comets have been bright enough to see with the naked eye during daytime over the last three centuries, including Comet West in 1976 and ,with perfect conditions and Comet Hale-Bopp in 1997.
Cooke suggests stargazers ‘savour the view because by early November, the comet will be gone again for the next 800 centuries.” Visibility in the UK should span from Saturday, October 12 until Wednesday, October 30, visible in the west just after sunset. Although the Royal Astronomical Society caught it on October 2 just before sunrise, better chances to see it are lessening.
Earth Sky has updated forecasts indicating that it might not be visible on some of the initially expected dates, and suggest October 14 to 24 as the most likely window for visibility.
