These photos from around the world are some of the best we've seen of Comet C/2023 A3 so far.
Comet C/2023 A3 (Tsuchinshan-ATLAS) displays prominent trails of ions and dust in this photograph taken on the morning of September 30 from Tivoli Farm in Namibia. Credit: Gerald Rhemann
Comet Tsuchinshan-ATLAS has not disappointed, and now we have the images to prove it.
The comet, formally known as C/2023 A3, was first discovered in January 2023 by the Purple Mountain Observatory in China's Jiangsu province. (The name Tsuchinshan comes from an older transliteration of Zijinshan, the Chinese word for Purple Mountain.)
Since then, it has been making its way into the interior of the solar system, reaching its closest point to the Sun (or perihelion) on September 27.
In the coming days, the comet will enter conjunction with the Sun, meaning it will be lost in the glow of our star. But it will re-emerge as a nocturnal object in mid-October, around the same time it makes its closest approach to Earth on October 12.
The following photographs were taken when Tsuchinshan-ATLAS was at or near perihelion on or shortly before September 27. Send your photos to readergallery@astronomy.comand we will add our favorite shots to this story.
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