By Pierre Ratte
This photo was taken just north of Portuguese Beach on Monday evening, Oct. 14. The viewing conditions were perfect. The comet became visible at 7:30pm, and viewing improved as the sky darkened over the next hour or so.
Looking west, the comet appears after Venus, the Evening Star and the brightest body in the sky. Venus is seen on the left side of the picture above. The star to the right of the comet is Arcturus.
The name of the comet comes from China’s Tsuchinshan Observatory, which means “purple mountain.” It was discovered in January 2023. A month later South Africa’s ATLAS telescope observed it. ATLAS is an acronym for Asteroid Terrestrial-impact Last Alert System. Hence, two names for the comet given the close timing of discovery. The comet also goes by another name: A3, or C/2023 A3.
Fun Facts: A3’s distance from the earth is about 46 million miles, and it will not return for 80,000 years. A3 is about 2 miles in diameter. Halley’s comet is about 5 miles in diameter, and it appears every 75 years.
