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Tsuchinshan–ATLAS

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C/2023 A3 (Tsuchinshan–ATLAS)
The comet on 2 October 2024, taken in Victoria, Australia
Discovery
Discovered byPurple Mountain Observatory
ATLAS South Africa
Discovery date9 January 2023[4]
Alternative
designations
A10SVYR
Orbital characteristics A
Number of
observations
2060
Aphelion≈ 270,000 AU (inbound)[3]
≈ 3,800 AU (outbound)[3]
Perihelion0.3914 AU (58.6 million km)[2]
Eccentricity0.9999985 (epoch 1800)[3]
0.9998981 (epoch 2200)
Orbital period≈ 110 million years (inbound)[3]
≈ 235,000 years (outbound)[3]
Max. orbital speed67.33 km/s @ perihelion[2]
Inclination139.1°
Earth MOID0.275 AU (41.1 million km; 107 LD)[1]
Comet total
magnitude
(M1)
4.3 ± 0.3[1]
Comet nuclear
magnitude (M2)
9.2 ± 0.3[1]
Last perihelion27 September 2024 18:00 ± 20 minutes (3-sigma)[2][1]

C/2023 A3 (Tsuchinshan–ATLAS) is a comet from the Oort cloud. It was discovered in 2023, by the Purple Mountain Observatory in China; A few weeks later, the comet was found (independently) by ATLAS South Africa; The comet passed perihelion at a distance of 0.39 AU (58 million km; 36 million mi) on 27 September 2024,[4][2] when it became visible to the naked eye.[5][6]

References

[change | change source]
  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 "Small-Body Database: C/2023 A3 (Tsuchinshan–ATLAS)". ssd.jpl.nasa.gov. Archived from the original on 2023-03-01. Retrieved 1 September 2023.
  2. 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 "Horizons Batch for C/2023 A3 (Tsuchinshan–ATLAS) on 2024-Sep-27" (Perihelion occurs when rdot flips from negative to positive). JPL Horizons. Archived from the original on 2023-04-04. Retrieved 2023-09-01. Perihelion as defined at epoch 2024-Sep-01 is QR= 3.91402E-01 (0.3914 AU).
  3. 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 Horizons output. "Barycentric Osculating Orbital Elements for Comet C/2023 A3 (Tsuchinshan–ATLAS)". Retrieved 2023-09-01. (Solution using the Solar System's barycenter (Sun+Jupiter). Select Ephemeris Type:Elements and Center:@0)
    Epoch 1800 was PR= 3.6E+9 / 365.25 days = millions of years
  4. 4.0 4.1 "MPEC 2023-D77 : COMET C/2023 A3 (Tsuchinshan–ATLAS)". minorplanetcenter.net. Retrieved 1 March 2023.
  5. "New comet – C/2023 A3 – could be bright in 2024". earthsky.org. 3 March 2023. Retrieved 8 April 2023.
  6. King, Bob (16 March 2023). "Anticipating Comet Tsuchinshan-ATLAS (C/2023 A3)". Sky and Telescope. Retrieved 8 April 2023.