Comet expected to die near the sun might survive, then visit Earth in October

A comet that was expected to die before reaching Earth has survived, astronomers say. It is nowmoving towards us and getting brighter by the day. Comet C/2023 A3 (Tsuchinshan-ATLAS) was first spotted at the Purple Mountain Observatory's XuYi Station in China in 2023. Scientists said that it was travelling towards the inside of our solar system.

However, a few weeks back it was reported that it is fast disintegrating and might fizzle out. But surprisingly, the comet is still intact and has been spotted by NASA's STEREO-A spacecraft on the other side of the sun.

Researchers say that it is going strong and even has a robust tail. It will soon be visible to the naked eye.

"It continues to brighten steadily, and is now up to magnitude 7," Qicheng Zhang, a researcher at the Lowell Observatory, told spaceweather.com.

"It also continues to display a very robust ion tail. There are zero signs that the nucleus is disintegrating."

Comet Tsuchinshan-ATLAS is racing towards the sun at a speed of 180,000 mph. From here, it will start taking a return journey and pass Earth on its way out of the solar system.

This celestial visitor originated in the Oort Cloud on the outer edges of our solar system. It has an orbital period of about 80,000 years.

The comet will be at its closest point to the sun on September 27. After here, while moving back out, it will be at the nearest point to Earth on October 12. It will be approximately 70.6 million kilometres (43.9 million miles) away from us on this day. Its brightness will likely overshadow Jupiter's.

Scientist says comet will disintegrate

The comet was said to be doomed and one scientist predicted that it would disintegrate before reaching us.

Also Read:Comet C/2023 A3 might shatter into pieces as it approaches Earth

In July, astronomer Zdenek Sekanina said that the comet would break apart before its close approach to Earth. He said the comet might fizzle out when it heads towards the sun on September 27. At this point, it will be 58.6 million kilometres (36.4 million miles) from it.

He says that when comets come near the sun, they outgas. The dust that forms their trail or coma also dies down soon after. This action can also change the trajectory, rotation, and speed of the comet. Since Comet C/2023 A3 comes from the Oort cloud, it is likely to disintegrate.

"The comets of this class have a tendency to disintegrate if they are intrinsically faint and depleted in dust by the time they are near 1 AU from the Sun," Sekanina says.