When I started this website during the COVID pandemic, I didn’t expect so many bright comets to grace our skies within a few years. Just as Comet ATLAS started disintegrating on March 22, 2020, astronomers discovered a new bright-to-be comet on March 27 named Comet Neowise. Then, the reasonably bright Comet ZTF arrived with its fuzzy presence.
That’s why, about a year ago, I started getting excited about the arrival of Comet Tsuchinshan-ATLAS, also known as C/2023 A3. This comet, first discovered by astronomers from the Tsuchinshan Observatory in China and the ATLAS survey in Hawaii, promised to be one of the brightest comets since Neowise. And sure enough, it actually got a little brighter than Neowise.
It so happened that Tsuchinshan-ATLAS hit peak brightness in early October 2024, and during this time, I was moving house. So, with my SCT packed, I had to skip on visual observations through the scope, instead relying on some good friends with a newer iPhone and my trusty e-scope sidekick, Seestar S50. I’ve posted two photos below to mark the occasion of this popular comet.
As of this writing, I still have to unpack the scope, but soon it will be ready!
My Observations
Sources and Notes
Sean, Issac, Levi, and Jude Reed took this sunset photo of the comet. Thanks, friends, for using your newer iPhones since my phone is so old!
Seestar S50 comet photo by Wayne McGraw
Banner photo by Dan Carlson.
The Garden Astronomer 
One thought on “Comet Tsuchinshan-ATLAS Graces Autumn Skies”