If you haven’t seen Comet C/2023 A3 Tsuchinshan-ATLAS yet, there is good news and bad news.
The good news is that it is still visible in the evening sky… just… if you know when and where to look for it.
The bad news is that it has now faded far below naked-eye brightness, and can only be seen through telescopes or captured by cameras.
More on comet A3
How the Comet A3 story unfolded
In October 2024, Comet A3 was easily visible to the naked eye, low in the west after sunset.
It was at its best around 14 October, but while comet watchers in the US and many European countries enjoyed lovely views of it at that time, and shared beautiful images of its glowing tail stretching out behind it more than a dozen degrees long, observers in the UK were left frustrated by cloud, and many (including me!) missed the comet shining at its best.
A few days later the clouds finally parted and many observers enjoyed their first post-perihelion views of Comet A3, by then shining close to Rasalhague as darkness fell.
But as November 2024 draws to a close and Santa’s reindeer gallop towards us, the comet has faded considerably.
It is drifting slowly across the Milky Way, almost lost in its frothy star clouds, and is being ignored by all but a small band of die-hard comet observers.
For Comet A3 the show might not be over, but the orchestra is preparing to play the encore.
As it flies away from the Sun and from our telescopes, binoculars and cameras too, how will we remember Comet A3?
Comet A3 memories
When it was discovered, some hoped – even predicted – that A3 would become a very bright naked eye comet, perhaps even becoming a Great Comet like Hale-Bopp was.
The press jumped on those predictions, and soon the internet was abuzz with giddy talk about how “the Comet of The Century” was on its way!
But most comet experts didn’t think that, and instead predicted it would be at best a very attractive naked eye comet and photographic target, visible to the naked eye but not so bright that it would be slap-across-the-face obvious like Hale-Bopp was.
And that turned out to be the case.
A3 was a good comet, one of the best for years, a lovely sight through binoculars and telescopes and easy to capture using DSLRs, phone cameras and the new generation of tracking telescopic cameras.
But A3 never brightened enough to become a 'Great Comet', and the wait for the next one of those continues.
Last goodbyes
So, farewell Comet A3!
It was great to hang out with you for a while, and many of us will cherish our views and photographs of you.
You might not have been a Great Comet, but many of us thought you were a great comet and we’ll miss you.
But the next truly Great Comet is still out there, waiting to be discovered. Or is it?
Perhaps it was found a few days ago, and its discoverers are getting ready to announce it?
Or maybe it was discovered last night, recorded as a tiny smudge on an image being taken of something else, and hasn’t been identified yet.
We’ll have to wait and see…
