Comet C/2023 A3 Tsuchinshan-ATLAS: a new image – 30 Sept. 2024.
Almost three days after its perihelion, we imaged comet C/2023 A3 Tsuchinshan-ATLAS again, always under extreme conditions. We saw the comet in very good health and much brighter than six days earlier.
C/2023 A3 Tsuchinshan-ATLAS. 30 Sept. 2024.
The image above comes from the sigma clipping combination of 9, 30-second unguided exposures, remotely taken with the ARTEC250+Paramount ME+C3Pro61000EC robotic unit available as part of the Virtual Telescope Project facility in Manciano, Italy. The telescope tracked at the motion rates of the comet. The object was at just 3,4 degrees of altitude above the E horizon, with the Sun only 12 deg. below it, during twilight. Electric cables on the foreground.
At such extremely low altitude, the airmass is around 14 times the one at zenith. This dramatically affects the apparent magnitude of the target, as the atmosphere scatters and absorbs its light; at 3.4 degrees of altitude, the drop in magnitudes is around 4, not considering the local haze. Despite this, the comet really stands out: some electric cables were on the foreground, along the line of sight. Its brightness incresed significantly since our previous visit.
Below is a large field-of-view image, captured with the Samyang 135+Paramount ME+ZWO ASI 6200MC Pro robotic unit always available at hour facility in Manciano, Italy. It comes from a single 20-second exposure, with no calibration.
C/2023 A3 Tsichinshan-ATLAS. 30 Sept. 2024.
Very likely, the next time we will see it, comet C/2023 A3 will be ready to hopefully amaze us.
It s interesting to compare images collected during our follow-up activities.
Comet C/2023 A3 was discovered on 9 Jan. 2023. Since it was announced, this icy world showed the potentially to reach naked eye visibility late in Sept. 2024, with chances to be remarkable around Oct. 9. At the moment, the comet is showing in very good health, with good hopes to have a nice show.
We will continue following up this promising comet.
On 9 Oct., we will show the comet live, online!
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