Returning after crossing the Sun, comet Tsuchinshan-ATLAS delights photographers and astronomy enthusiasts. Visible for “around ten days”, continuing its journey started millions of years ago, it offers a beautiful spectacle, particularly in the sky of the Côte d’Azur.
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The comet is called Tsuchinshan-ATLAS because this small body of rock and ice was detected in January 2023 by the Chinese Purple Mountain Observatory (Tsuchinshan), which gives 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. To make it simpler, it has a nickname: comet of the century.
Because except for obstacles on its route modifying the trajectory, Tsuchinshan-ATLAS follows an orbit which should not bring it closer to the Earth for 80,000 years, specifies this comet specialist.
Now that the presentations are made, his photo, let’s say his photos:
A light in the sky of the Côte d’Azur captured last night by two enthusiasts.
“After studying weather radars and satellite images, which showed cloud cover around Nice, we made the decision to head towards Grimaud in the Var. The objective was to photograph the comet, hoping to include the mill in foreground. Unfortunately, the configuration of the site did not allow us to do so. However, we were able to capture the comet, clearly visible to the naked eye. specifies Laurent Richard, influencer photographer known under the nickname “Hypnoastro.”
According to Vincent Francia, another photographer “When comets approach our star, the ice contained in their core sublimates and lets out a long trail of dust, reflecting sunlight. It is then said that the comet degases, with the formation of a characteristic hair, the coma, sometimes at the risk of disintegrate.”
“The blue line that can be observed in the tail of a comet clearly visible in certain images is called the ion tail or plasma tail. It is formed when the comet approaches the Sun and its gases are ionized by solar light. The charged particles are then repelled by the solar wind, this flow of charged particles which emanates from the Sun,” explains the specialist.
The blue line that can be observed in the tail of a comet is clearly visible in certain images.
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© Laurent Richard / Hypnoastro and Vincent Francia / Frnc Paysage
And added: “This ionic tail is mainly composed of ionized gases, such as carbon monoxide (CO+), which emit a bluish light when excited by ultraviolet radiation from the Sun. It is this phenomenon that gives the plasma tail its characteristic blue color. It is often thinner and straighter than the dust tail, which is rather yellowish or white and more diffuse.”
Visible from Saturday throughout the Northern Hemisphere, Tsuchinshan-ATLAS is a little higher in the sky every evening, observable when looking to the West and yet “ten days”according to Eric Lagadec, astrophysicist at the Côte d’Azur Observatory.
The researcher explained to France 3 Côte d’Azur a few days ago, another phenomenon also visible in the sky of the region last week: the Northern Lights:
As for the comet, if you too want to take beautiful photos of it, know that “each day, it will decrease a little in brightness” as it moves away from the Sun, warns the astrophysicist.
Based on the comet’s orbit and certain models, it is estimated that it could have been up to 400,000 times the Earth-Sun distance before reaching us.
With Véronique Varin.
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