Once-in-a-century comet visible over skies in Germany this week
By Jan de Boer
As C/2023 A3 Tsuchinshan-ATLAS comet crosses the night sky between October 10 and 20, it should be visible from Germany with the naked eye. Here’s how to catch a glimpse of this one-in-a-century wonder.
The brightest comet seen in decades
Comet C/2023 A3 Tsuchinshan-ATLAS is thought to originate from the first Oort cloud comets on the outermost edge of the solar system and was first identified by Chinese astronomers in January 2023. Since then, the comet has tracked a path towards the sun, having reached its closest point to the star on September 27.
The comet itself is as ancient as the solar system itself, coming in at 4,5 billion years old. Luckily for us on Earth, this dirty snowball of ice and dust will be passing by. It is already the brightest comet seen in decades, promising to be a stunning sight as it crosses the night sky.
Comet C/2023 A3 Tsuchinshan-ATLAS visible over Germany
Described as a “once-in-a-century event”, MeteoNews forecasts that the Comet C/2023 A3 Tsuchinshan-ATLAS should be visible in the skies above Germany from October 10 to 20. The comet now has a “long beautiful tail” according to the Dutch weather service Weeronline, and should be visible to the naked eye.
The best conditions to see this stunning comet in Germany will be just after dark on October 12 and 15. While it will be at its closest and brightest as it emerges in the west just after sunset on Friday, October 11 - it should be as bright as Venus - it will quickly disappear behind the horizon. On Friday the comet will be to the left of the Heze star in the Virgo constellation.
When is the best time to see the comet in Germany?
Between October 12 and 14, the bright comet will follow a parallel trajectory to the left of the Virgo constellation stars of T-Vir and Vir, giving stargazers in Germany more time to identify and observe it in all its glory. Be sure to look towards the constellation, which will be in the west at sunset. After October 15 the comet will begin to fade in the night sky and by October 20 will only be visible using a telescope.
Thanks to its brightness, Comet C/2023 A3 Tsuchinshan-ATLAS should be visible to the naked eye, but to see its tail more vividly, MeteoNews advises using binoculars. It’s also best to venture to places with an unobstructed horizon to the west, away from cities and artificial light pollution (fields, forests, mountains, etc). Fingers crossed the weather in Germany is kind!
This article originally appeared on IamExpat in Switzerland.
Thumb image credit: Mr.narong Naktrakun / Shutterstock.com
Never miss a thing!Sign up for our weekly newsletters with important news stories, expat events and special offers.
Jan studied History at the University of York and Broadcast Journalism at the University of Sheffield. Though born in York, Jan has lived most of his life in Zurich and has worked as a journalist, writer and editor since 2016.
While he has plunged head-first back into life in Switzerland since returning to the country in 2020, he still enjoys a taste of home at pub quizzes and karaoke nights.Read more