“Comet visible with the naked eye,” was heard shortly after 7:15 PM on the Sophienalpe in Vienna-Penzing. Several dozen amateur astronomers and interested parties gathered at the popular observation point on the outskirts of Vienna to catch a glimpse of “C/2023 A3 Tsuchinshan Atlas”. For a long time a persistent bank of clouds blocked the view…
Just to the west there was already a long, motionless bank of clouds at 6pm, exactly where the ‘Tsuchinshan Atlas’ should be visible at dusk. “Waiting for the cloud opportunity” was the motto of the “comet hunters”. Hope was kept alive by the wide, cloudless band on the horizon, lit orange by the setting sun, where the tail star could appear shortly before sunset.
“Unfortunately only one plane”
Until then, the Vienna Working Group for Astronomy (WAA) pointed some telescopes at the moon and Saturn to shorten the waiting time for laymen. And again and again, someone thought he saw the tail of the glowing comet or the comet itself – but in the end it turned out to be just a strip of clouds or an airplane.
Until ‘Tsuchinshan Atlas’ finally showed up – rather vaguely and not for long. The comet’s head soon disappeared behind a band of clouds.
Possibly visible until next Friday
The comet had been visible in the southern hemisphere for a few days and spectacular images, especially of its long tail, further fueled interest. For amateur astronomers and all interested parties, there remains hope for better weather conditions and images in the coming days. It is worth looking west until Friday at dusk, WAA boss Alexander Pikhard said. However, the comet is losing its brightness every day.
The ‘Tsuchinshan Atlas’ was discovered in early 2023 by observatories in China and South Africa. The object comes from the Oort Cloud, a spherical, shell-shaped collection of objects in the outer reaches of the solar system, and orbits the Sun in an extremely elongated orbit. The comet reached its closest point to the Sun (perihelion) on September 27, but was not yet visible from Central Europe at that time. Now it is moving steadily away from the sun again.
In the coming days, weather conditions permitting, the WAA will organize observation evenings on the Sophienalpe in Vienna. The Martinsberg Astronomical Center (Lower Austria) also invites you to observe together when the weather is good.
Source: Krone
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