C/2023 A3 Tsuchinshan-Atlas

C/2023 A3 Tsuchinshan-Atlas was discovered in January 2023 and made it’s closest approach to Earth On October 12, 2024. The comet’s orbit suggests it originated from the outer limits of the solar system, an icy place called the Oort cloud. It is currently heading back out to the far reaches, dimming each day, and will not return for millions of years.

This comet has been putting on a show for the past couple weeks, brightening enough to be seen with the unaided eye. I missed seeing it when it was at it’s brightest due to the weather , but my wife and I went out to track it down and we saw it. Just barely but we could see it! The next night I spotted it from my yard so I scrambled to set up a telescope to try to get a few shots before some trees were in the way. Success! I used an Astro-Tech AT72EDii telescope and a ZWO ASI2600MC Pro camera to take this shot.