they photograph “the comet of the century” which we will not see again on earth for 80,000 years

Comet Tsuchinshan-ATLAS, discovered in 2023, will be visible in the Northern Hemisphere until October 21, 2024. In Franche-Comté, many people immortalize the celestial body and its famous plume every evening at nightfall.

They have had their heads in the stars for a few days. Professionals or simple amateurs, photographers scan the firmament every evening at nightfall. Their objective: to flush out the long luminous plume of “the comet of the century”. A dazzling phenomenon not to be missed and for good reason: the Tsuchinshan-ATLAS comet will not return to visit us for 80,000 years, astronomers predict!

“It was magnificent !”comments Laurent Lepeule who captured this magical moment above Courvières (Doubs) this Sunday October 13, 2024. “At dusk, the mist came to envelop the village of Courvièreshe says. And to top it all off, comet Tsuchinshan-ATLAS appeared in the sky…” For this incredible shot, the photographer waited for many minutes, he explains on his Facebook page, “with a focal length of 80mm, at F2.8 and an exposure time of 5s on a tripod obviously.” from the reservoir which overlooks the town. “Some motorists must have thought I was carrying out a speed check”he smiles.

The small body of rock and ice was detected in January 2023 by China’s Purple Mountain Observatory (Tsuchinshan), giving it the first half of its name. He owes the second to the confirmation of his existence by a telescope from the South African ATLAS program.

C/2023 A3, this is its scientific name, was already visible to the naked eye in the southern hemisphere in September. Returning after crossing the Sun, the flamboyant celestial body will be able to be seen by Earthlings, from across the northern hemisphere until October 21. “We couldn’t observe it when it was between the Earth and the Sun,” Eric Lagadec, astrophysicist at the Côte d’Azur Observatory (southern France), told AFP. Its passage near our star almost proved fatal. The comet had to brave this solar storm which reached Earth on Thursday and which notably caused magnificent northern lights,

In Franche-Comté, it could have remained invisible, hidden behind the clouds, but the weather offered observers a respite. Just in time, to allow the image to be captured, as in Pugey (Doubs).

When comets approach our star, the ice contained in their core sublimates and releases a long trail of dust, reflecting sunlight. The comet is then said to degas, with the formation of a characteristic hair, the coma. But be careful, warns Eric Lagadec, “each day, it will decrease a little in brightness” as it moves away from the Sun.

Ciel & Espace magazine shared a sky map and gave its observation advice to allow everyone to enjoy the spectacle.

Comet Tsuchinshan-ATLAS comes from very far away. His journey is already measured in millions of years. According to its orbit and certain models, it is estimated that it could have been up to 400,000 times the Earth-Sun distance before reaching us. She would have born in the Oort Cloud, a hypothetical and gigantic assembly of tiny planets and celestial bodies, at the edge of the solar system.