Comet 2023 A3 (Tsuchinshan Atlas) will be visible in the Yucatan Peninsula at dusk today, said Yucatecan astronomer Eddie Ariel Salazar Gamboa, warning that it will be observed as long as atmospheric conditions allow it.
He clarified that the car will be seen for about two hours and will be in the constellation of Virgo, where it will reach its maximum brilliance.
The emeritus academic from the Mérida Technological Institute (ITM) recommended moving away from the light pollution generated by cities and settling in an open place for better observation.
According to calculations, the comet rises at 7:40 a.m. and sets at 7:40 p.m., so it is impossible to observe it in the morning. The only alternative is at night.
While the Sun appeared at 5:42 a.m. and set at 5:42 p.m., thus the star will be seen after nightfall, said the emeritus professor of the Autonomous University of Yucatán (UADY).
Since the Tsuchinshan Atlas is at its perihelion, the closest point to the Sun, it shines with a magnitude of 3.5, visible but with some difficulty.
Today, it will be at its maximum brightness, 2.5 degrees of stellar magnitude, so it will be appreciated with the naked eye, and it is best to use binoculars.
Likewise, he mentioned that next Sunday, October 20, there will be more observation time, until 8:44 p.m., in the constellation of Ophiuchus, but it will no longer be observed with the naked eye.
The last day of visibility will be next Wednesday, October 30th, since on November 1, it will no longer be visible as it has a magnitude of 6.3, he stressed.
Finally, he defined the comet as an object made of metal and/or rock, covered with ice, that from time to time approaches the Sun, and therefore, the closer it is to the Sun, it prolongs its tail or hair, the which may well be several million kilometers long.
Some of them have an elliptical orbit, which allows the body to return to the Sun every certain time, just like the famous Halley’s comet, which appears every 76.3 years.
Recently, it was observed in 1986, and it is expected to be observed in 2062.
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