Astronomy Picture of the Day · September 23, 2024

Comet Tsuchinshan-ATLAS Approaches

The Astronomy Picture of the Day for September 23, 2024 is “Comet Tsuchinshan-ATLAS Approaches,” an image. The picture is copyrighted by its creator (Image Credit & Copyright: Brian Valente & Greg Stein). The original explanation runs about 160 words.

A picture shows a starfield with three prominent objects. A blue spiral galaxy is on the lower left and another blue spiral is just left of center. Toward the upper right is a light-colored comet with a tail fading toward in the image botto — Credit: Image Credit & Copyright: Brian Valente & Greg Stein Copyrighted Shown from science.nasa.gov. Not hosted by OpenOrbit.

From the explanation

“What will happen as this already bright comet approaches? Optimistic predictions have Comet C/2023 A3 (Tsuchinshan-ATLAS) briefly becoming easily visible to the unaided eye — although the future brightness of comet s are notoriously hard to predict , and this comet may even break up in warming sunlight.”

— APOD editors, September 23, 2024

Read the full explanation on science.nasa.gov

At a glance

Date: September 23, 2024
Type: Image
Credit: Credit: Image Credit & Copyright: Brian Valente & Greg Stein
Copyright: Copyrighted by the credited creator. Ask the copyright holder before reusing it.
Explanation length: About 160 words

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Source

Astronomy Picture of the Day, September 23, 2024 — science.nasa.gov/image-article/apod-2024-september-23-comet-tsuchinshan-atlas-approaches

Copy taken Oct 28, 2026, 2:39 AM EDT. The image and explanation belong to their creators. OpenOrbit is not affiliated with or endorsed by NASA.