THE comet A3 (Tsuchinshan-ATLAS) is considered “the comet of the century” due to its brightness and the ease with which it can be seen from Earth. Although this designation is disputed by scientists, it is certain that it is a very impressive comet that has lit up Earth’s sky in the last 24 hours. The comet’s passage was recorded around the world while images were also captured by cameras on the International Space Station. The comet also became visible in the Greek sky with many Space friends and astrophotographers capturing images of it. One of the most impressive of the Attica sky is published by Athens National Observatory Visitor Center.
Comet A3 appeared in the sky above Mount Panios in Keratea Attica and was captured by the lens of astrophotographer Antonis Farmakopoulos
The comet originates from the Oort Cloud, a giant spherical shell that surrounds our solar system and is home to billions of objects, including comets. The comet was discovered in January 2023 and was named after the two telescopes that spotted it, almost simultaneously, the Chuxinshan Observatory in China and the ATLAS telescope in South Africa. It visits the interior of the solar system approximately every 80 thousand years and, as Britain’s Royal Astronomical Society notes, “this means it would have last been visible from Earth when Neanderthals walked the planet.”
On September 27, 2024, comet A3 reached its perihelion, that is, the closest point to the Sun, at a distance of 58 million kilometers. On October 12th, it made its closest passage to Earth, at a distance of around 70 million kilometers, and for another 24 hours it remained highly visible in the sky.
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