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Space
Space
Science
Joe Rao

Comet Tsuchinshan-ATLAS may dazzle this weekend. But is the best yet to come?

Sun Joe Rao Earth Celestron
Composite image of three comet images showing the comet rising above the horizon in the early predawn sky. .

Excitement is building as Comet Tsuchinshan–ATLAS (pronounced Choo-cheen-SHAHN -ATLAS) continues to brighten as it continues to approach the sun and the Earth. 

This remote, object, discovered on Jan. 9, 2023, at the Purple Mountain Observatory (Tsuchinshan) in China, was originally believed to be an asteroid before it was found to actually be a comet on Feb. 22 2023 by the Asteroid Terrestrial-Impact Last Alert System (ATLAS) search program in South Africa. The orbit computed then showed that the comet would dive deep into the inner solar system a year and a half later, reaching perihelion (closest approach to the sun) at a distance of 36.38 million miles (58.54 million km) — Mercury's average sun distance — on Friday, Sept. 27 at 1:47 p.m. EDT
(1747 GMT).

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