Astronomy Picture of the Day

Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation written by a professional astronomer.

2024 September 30
A picture shows clouds across the bottom and a dark night sky
across the top. In the middle is a band of orange sky. City lights
are visible on the right through gaps in the clouds. In the center
of the upper sky is a comet with its tail pointing toward the 
upper right. 
Please see the explanation for more detailed information.

Comet Tsuchinshan-ATLAS over Mexico
Image Credit & Copyright: Daniel Korona

Explanation: The new comet has passed its closest to the Sun and is now moving closer to the Earth. C/2023 A3 (Tsuchinshan–ATLAS) is currently moving out from inside the orbit of Venus and on track to pass its nearest to the Earth in about two weeks. Comet Tsuchinshan-ATLAS, pronounced "Choo-cheen-shahn At-less,", is near naked-eye visibility and easily picked up by long-exposure cameras. The comet can also now be found by observers in Earth's northern hemisphere as well as the south. The featured image was captured just a few days ago above Zacatecas, Mexico. Because clouds were obscuring much of the pre-dawn sky, the astrophotographer released a drone to take pictures from higher up, several of which were later merged to enhance the comet's visibility. Although the future brightness of comets is hard to predict, there is increasing hope that Comet Tsuchinshan-ATLAS will further brighten as it enters the early evening sky.

Growing Gallery: Comet Tsuchinsan-ATLAS in 2024
Tomorrow's picture: black hole jet


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