NARIT unveils images of comet visible in Thai sky

The National Astronomical Research Institute of Thailand (NARIT) has released images of the comet Tsuchinshan-ATLAS, also known as Comet C/2023 A3.

The images were captured at the Princess Sirindhorn AstroPark in Songkhla during the early morning of Wednesday (September 25 ), hours before sunrise. The clear skies provided an opportunity to capture the images.

Comet C/2023 A3 (Tsuchinshan-ATLAS) was discovered by the ATLAS (Asteroid Terrestrial-impact Last Alert System) telescope network in South Africa on February 22, 2023. However, it was later found that astronomers at the Tsuchinshan Observatory in China had actually discovered the comet earlier, on January 9. Thus, the names of both observatories were combined to form the name of this comet.

The comet is currently located between the orbits of Mercury and Venus. It will reach its closest point to the Sun tomorrow (September 28) at a distance of approximately 58.6 million kilometres (about the distance between the Sun and Mercury). Here it will be exposed to high-energy solar radiation, causing it to release dust and gas more intensely, potentially creating a long tail that could stretch millions of kilometres into space.

The comet will reach its closest point to Earth on October 13 at a distance of 70.6 million kilometres when it will be at its brightest before gradually moving away from Earth. It won’t return for another 80,660 years.

In Thailand, the comet will be visible until around October 6 in the early morning hours before sunrise, looking east. After that, from October 11, the comet will be visible in the evening sky, looking west.