Comets»
Above the horizon.Rise:12:35|Tran:18:47|Set:1:06
Altitude: 28.3°Azimuth: 125.5°Direction: South-East
Comet C/2023 A3 (Tsuchinshan-ATLAS) is currently in the constellation of Leo,at a distance of 284,185,779 kilometers from Earth.The current Right Ascension of Comet C/2023 A3 (Tsuchinshan-ATLAS) is 11h 34m 03s and the Declination is +03° 00’ 46” (topocentric coordinatescomputed for the selected location: Greenwich, United Kingdom).The current estimated magnitude of Comet C/2023 A3 (Tsuchinshan-ATLAS) is 10.63 (JPL) while the latest observed magnitude is 11.5 (COBS).
Map showing Comet C/2023 A3 (Tsuchinshan-ATLAS) in Leo on June, 17 2024. Field of view: 50x30 degrees
View interactive star map
Comet C/2023 A3 (Tsuchinshan-ATLAS) was discovered by the Asteroid Terrestrial-impact Last Alert System (ATLAS) on 22 February 2023 and it was also independently observed few weeks before in January 2023 at the Tsuchinshan Chinese Observatory (Purple Mountain Observatory of the Chinese Academy of Sciences). The official designation includes both Tsuchinshan and ATLAS due to these independent observations.Its retrograde orbit, meaning it moves in the opposite direction to most major solar system objects, is parabolic-like with a perihelion distance of 0.39 astronomical units (AU).Comet C/2023 A3 (Tsuchinshan-ATLAS) is notable and actively observed because, based on current estimations, it is could become bright enough to be visible to the naked eye during its perihelion passage between September and October 2024.
The observed values of Magnitude,Coma Diameter and Tail Length are derived from the most recent observation recorded at the Comet Observers Database. The value of Predicted Magnitudecomes from the JPL Horizons ephemerides service and, in the case of comets, might beinaccurate given the highly dynamic and unpredictablebehavior of these objects. When available, please refer to the Observed Magnitude value and consider the Predicted Magnitude as adirectional indication. We acknowledge with thanks the comet observations from the COBS Comet ObservationDatabase contributed by observers worldwide and used in this table toreport recent comet observations.
Today's rise,transit and set times ofComet C/2023 A3 (Tsuchinshan-ATLAS) fromGreenwich, United Kingdom (all times relative to the local timezone Europe/London):
- C/2023 A3 (Tsuchinshan-ATLAS) isabove the horizon from Greenwich, United Kingdom.
- Right now it is placed in the South-East direction at an altitude of 28° above the horizon.
- Given its current magnitude, C/2023 A3 (Tsuchinshan-ATLAS) is visible with the help of a telescope having an aperture of 8 inches (200mm) or more.
- Go to interactive sky chart
If you need to access this information frequently for your observations, you can create a simple customized Quick Access page,so that you can easily bookmark it in your browser favorites or add a shortcut to your mobile phones' home screen.
Map showing Comet C/2023 A3 (Tsuchinshan-ATLAS) in Leo on June, 17 2024
Field of view: 10x6 degrees
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Higher precision deep sky finder chart, 60 arcmin wide, showing where Comet C/2023 A3 (Tsuchinshan-ATLAS) is right now.Click on the image to see a more detailed fullscreen tracker view.
C/2023 A3 (Tsuchinshan-ATLAS)
RA: 11h 34m 03s
Dec: +03° 00’ 46”
Deep sky finder chart for Comet C/2023 A3 (Tsuchinshan-ATLAS)
Field of view: 60x40 arcmins
View fullscreen
Also check out Where is Comet C/2023 A3 (Tsuchinshan-ATLAS)?,a page that provides all the information needed to find Comet C/2023 A3 (Tsuchinshan-ATLAS) in the sky and additional links to sky charts.
The distance of Comet C/2023 A3 (Tsuchinshan-ATLAS) from Earth is currently 284,185,779 kilometers,equivalent to 1.899665 Astronomical Units.Light takes15 minutes and 47.9417 seconds to travel from Comet C/2023 A3 (Tsuchinshan-ATLAS) and arrive to us.
The following chart shows the distance of Comet C/2023 A3 (Tsuchinshan-ATLAS) from Earth as a function of time.In the chart the distance data is measured in Astronomical Units and sampled with an interval of 1 day.
Chart of the distance of Comet C/2023 A3 (Tsuchinshan-ATLAS) from Earth in Astronomical Units (au)
The value of the reported distance might be somewhat inaccurate around the times of closest approach for objects passing extremely close to Earth.The value of the distance of C/2023 A3 (Tsuchinshan-ATLAS) from Earth is also available as a real time updated value in theLive Position and Data Tracker.
Between 1 January 2000 and 31 December 2099,the closest approach ofComet C/2023 A3 (Tsuchinshan-ATLAS) to Earth happens on Sun Oct 13 2024 at a distance of 0.476126 Astronomical Units, or71,227,371 kilometers:
NOTE: values for the closest approach are computedwith a sampling interval of 1 day.
The following chart is the predicted light curve(visual magnitude as a function of time) of Comet C/2023 A3 (Tsuchinshan-ATLAS),according to the most recent ephemerides data. Magnitude data is sampled with a 2 days interval and there might be inaccuraciesfor objects changing brightness very rapidly during the course of a few days. For comets there could be large discrepanciesbetween the observed and predicted brightness because of their highly dynamic behaviour.
Chart of the magnitude of Comet C/2023 A3 (Tsuchinshan-ATLAS) as a function of time
The following table lists the orbital elements of Comet C/2023 A3 (Tsuchinshan-ATLAS)at epoch17 October 2023 00:00 UTC (JD: 2460235.5).Source: JPL Small-Body Database
Element | Symbol | Value |
---|---|---|
Orbit eccentricity | e | 1.00015108 |
Orbit inclination | i | 139.11961923° |
Perihelion distance | q | 0.39146947 AU 58,562,999 km |
Aphelion distance | Q | n.a. |
Semi-major axis | a | n.a. |
Orbital period | period | n.a. |
Date of perihelion transit | Tp | 2024-Sep-27 17:18:36 2,460,581.2213 JD |
Argument of perihelion | peri | 308.48269677916° |
Longitude of the ascending node | node | 21.556440041516° |
Mean anomaly | M | -0.0025832899218413° |
Mean motion | n | 0.00000747°/day |
This 3d orbit diagram is a feature of our 3D Solar System Simulator and showsthe orbit of Comet C/2023 A3 (Tsuchinshan-ATLAS) with respect of the Sun and the orbits of the major planets.The position of Comet C/2023 A3 (Tsuchinshan-ATLAS) and the planets along their orbits in this diagram accurately represents the current configurationof the objects in the Solar System.This is an experimental feature and it requires a WebGL enabled browser. Please provide us feedback!
Orbit Diagram of Comet C/2023 A3 (Tsuchinshan-ATLAS)
View Comet C/2023 A3 (Tsuchinshan-ATLAS) in the 3D Solar System Simulator
The following table lists the ephemerides of Comet C/2023 A3 (Tsuchinshan-ATLAS) computed for the past and next 7 days, with a 24 hours interval.Click on each row of the table to locate Comet C/2023 A3 (Tsuchinshan-ATLAS) in our Online Planetariumat the chosen date.
Date | Right AscensionR.A. | DeclinationDec. | MagnitudeMag | Constellation |
---|---|---|---|---|
2024 Jun 10 | 11h 46m 18s | +02° 55’ 42” | 10.77 | Virgo |
2024 Jun 11 | 11h 44m 34s | +02° 57’ 03” | 10.75 | Virgo |
2024 Jun 12 | 11h 42m 51s | +02° 58’ 12” | 10.73 | Virgo |
2024 Jun 13 | 11h 41m 12s | +02° 59’ 08” | 10.71 | Virgo |
2024 Jun 14 | 11h 39m 34s | +02° 59’ 51” | 10.69 | Virgo |
2024 Jun 15 | 11h 37m 59s | +03° 00’ 23” | 10.68 | Virgo |
2024 Jun 16 | 11h 36m 28s | +03° 00’ 42” | 10.66 | Leo |
2024 Jun 17 | 11h 34m 56s | +03° 00’ 51” | 10.64 | Leo |
2024 Jun 18 | 11h 33m 29s | +03° 00’ 47” | 10.62 | Leo |
2024 Jun 19 | 11h 32m 03s | +03° 00’ 33” | 10.60 | Leo |
2024 Jun 20 | 11h 30m 39s | +03° 00’ 08” | 10.58 | Leo |
2024 Jun 21 | 11h 29m 18s | +02° 59’ 33” | 10.56 | Leo |
2024 Jun 22 | 11h 28m 00s | +02° 58’ 45” | 10.54 | Leo |
2024 Jun 23 | 11h 26m 42s | +02° 57’ 48” | 10.52 | Leo |
Compute the position of Comet C/2023 A3 (Tsuchinshan-ATLAS)for any date and time between 1 January 2000and 31 December 2099and display the results on an interactive star map.