A young amateur photographer managed to photograph the passage of comet Tsuchinshan-Atlas, nicknamed “the comet of the century”, this Sunday evening on the heights of Millau in Aveyron. A rare moment, visible to the naked eye again during this week. He recounts his adventure.
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It’s a gift from heaven for Théo Costecalde. This Aveyron resident, passionate about photography, captured the magic of the passage of the “comet of the century” above Millau in Aveyron. He gives us his testimony and his photos.
Scientists have been warning us for months. Comet Tsuchinshan-Atlas, discovered in January 2023, is currently visible to the naked eye in the northern hemisphere. A rare moment, It was closest to Earth on October 12, 2024approximately 71 million kilometers away. An event that this amateur photographer did not miss.
“I saw that the weather was very favorable on Sunday”says Théo Costecalbe. “As I am crazy about photography and I know the heights of Millau well, I posted myself on the Puncho d’Agast, 500m above sea level above the town and it appeared shortly before 8 p.m. It was a magical moment.”
Theo has no words to explain what he felt: “It was extraordinary. I didn’t think it would be so big and that we would see it so well. In 2020, I remember defying confinement to go see the Neowise comet pass by. But this was different. Its size really surprised me”.
The Tsuchinshan-Atlas photo was taken with a 2-second pause on a reflex camera.
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© Théo Costecalde
A cook in a training center for people with disabilities, Théo took advantage of this moment until the end: “In the end I only took around twenty photos, some with my phone. Others with my SLR camera. And as it remained visible for 45 minutes, the rest of the time I enjoyed the incredible spectacle”.
His photos were taken in pause mode for 2 to 3 seconds: “Beyond 15 seconds, we can see the movement of the stars”he tells us. “And then, it wasn’t going as fast as a meteorite. Honestly, I didn’t think it would be as beautiful”.
This amateur photographer, initially passionate about storms, now wants to get into astronomy photography: “It motivated me to continue on this path. I really hope I can see more”. For Tsuchinshan-Atlas, you will have to act quickly. The comet has already lost brightness and there are only a few days left to observe it.
From the beginning of November, it will return to darkness and should then be expelled from the solar system.
