Since Comet C/2023 A3 Tsuchinshan-ATLAS made its spectacular return to our skies in autumn 2024, we've received so many photographs of the celestial visitor from around the world.
But this morning our email inbox contained something rather unique among the plethora of A3 images: a beautiful pastel drawing of the comet captured over the west coast of Ireland.
Deirdre Kelleghan is an astronomy communicator and artist who regularly draws night-sky objects from her home in Killadoon, County Mayo, Ireland.
She took the opportunity to capture Comet C/2023 A3 using not a DSLR and tracking mount, but a set of pastels and paper instead.
Deirdre captured these wonderful drawings on 16 October 2024.
See more images of Comet C/2023 A3
"I drove down to Fahy, on the coast near me, to take a chance on the comet making an appearance," she says. "Nothing but black clouds and a few gaps.
"Using my binoculars, I scanned the gaps for about 45 minutes. I saw the head of the comet in fleeting moments.
"In preparation for success, I drew in the towers of clouds and waited.
"At 20:20 local time (19:20 UT), it was above one of these columns, visible to the naked eye. The head was distinctive, and the tail was visible but faint.
"When the Moon behind me went into a black cloud, I could see it well enough to place it in my naked-eye drawing. The Atlantic added its crashing waves to the scenario.
"Then, I used my 15X70 binoculars on a tripod to draw it in a prepared circle.
"The comet's tail exceeded my line, more than ten degrees long and fainter away from the head. The material in the coma close to the head had a yellow tint.
"Unfortunately, I could not see the anti-tail, which I would have loved to include in the drawing. The ion tail was faint due to the almost full Hunter's Moon.
"The second drawing was at 20:33 local time, 19:33 UT."
"To me, the comet looked very sleek and had the appearance of its speed (69 km per second). To say I was delighted to see it is an understatement; I was so, so SO happy.
"Both drawings were done at Fahy on the Atlantic coast near Killadoon, Co Mayo, Ireland. I was using soft pastels and a white gel pen on high-quality paper."
Get astro-sketching tutorials via Deirdre's website or by visiting Deirdre Kelleghan's BBC Sky at Night Magazine author profile.
