Comet c/2023 A3

Best comet of the decade?

The buzz around comet c/2023 A3 Tsuchinshan–ATLAS hasn’t been as big as 2020’s Neowise, or 2023’s ZTE and I almost missed it. Luckily, I made it out on Oct 18th and after only 1 hour shortly after sunset managed to grab my best comet photos so far despite a full moon. It should continue to be visible till Oct 26th, 2024. For tips on seeing it, try space.com.

c/2023 A3 At Dusk whizzing through clouds

c/2023 A3 at Night below the clouds

Compare those photos to previous comet photos, taken from the San Francisco East Bay hills.

Comet c/2020 F3 Neowise

Comet c/2022 ZTE

Fast Follow on to comet c/2023 A3?

There’s might be another comet visible in the northern hemisphere, c/2024 S1 coming up at the end of Oct/Early November. Its path brings it extremely close to the sun and is danger of breaking up. But if it does survive, it might also put on a great show! Read more at starwalk.com.

Related

Interested in astronomy? Check out the Robert Ferguson Observatory in Sugarloaf State park for lectures and peeks through their telescopes.