Watch: Comet Tsuchinshan-ATLAS en route to sun captured from ISS
Comet Tsuchinshan-ATLAS
NASA astronaut Matthew Dominick has once again caught on his camera a celestial wonder that will leave you in awe. He recently shared a timelapse of the Comet Tsuchinshan-ATLAS captured from the International Space Station.
The comet, designated C/2023 A3 Tsuchinshan-ATLAS, is currently making its way towards the sun. Dominick saw it hovering above Earth's atmosphere as it journeys to the centre of our solar system.
The astronaut shared that the comet looks like a fuzzy ball to the naked eye, but it started taking shape using some advanced camera features.
"So far Comet Tsuchinshan-ATLAS looks like a fuzzy star to the naked eye looking out the cupola windows," wrote Dominick, commander of the SpaceX Crew-8 mission, in a post on X. "But with a 200mm, f2 lens at 1/8s exposure you can really start to see it. This comet is going to make for some really cool images as it gets closer to the sun. For now a time lapse preview."
Dominick has in the past shared photos of auroras over Earth and a meteorite entering our planet, besides several others.
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Comet Tsuchinshan-ATLAS was discovered in 2023 by the Asteroid Terrestrial-impact Last Alert System (ATLAS) and Tsuchinshan Chinese Observatory (Purple Mountain Observatory of the Chinese Academy of Sciences).
It is set to return towards Earth in October when it is expected to become visible to Earthlings. It moves in a retrograde orbit around the sun, which is in the opposite direction to planets and asteroids.
Also Read:Comet expected to die near the sun might survive, then visit Earth in October
This led researchers to conclude that it originated in the Oort Cloud, a theoretical region that lies beyond Neptune's orbit. It is seen as the birthplace of long-period comets that travel into the inner solar system.
Brighter than Jupiter comet will visit Earth in October
Comet Tsuchinshan-ATLAS is travelling at a speed of 180,000 mph towards the sun. After reaching this region, it will begin its return trip and pass Earth on its way out of the solar system. The comet will be at its closest point to the sun on September 27. Later, it will come at its nearest point to Earth on October 12 where it will be approximately 70.6 million kilometres (43.9 million miles) away. It is expected to be so bright that it will likely overshadow Jupiter.
Is the comet disintegrating?
Some reports suggested that the comet will die upon its approach to the sun. Astronomer Zdenek Sekanina pointed out that at 58.6 million kilometres (36.4 million miles) from the sun, the comet will fizzle out after outgassing. "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 said.
However, other scientists later stated that it is completely fine and intact.
