Kerala observatory tracks ‘Comet of the Century’ C/2023 A3

Dubbed as ‘comet of the century,’ C/2023 A3 (Tsuchinshan-ATLAS) was discovered by the Purple Mountain Observatory in China on January 9 last year
Comet C/2023 A3 (Tsuchinshan-ATLAS) observed by the Kerala University Astronomical Observatory | Special arrangement
Comet C/2023 A3 (Tsuchinshan-ATLAS) observed by the Kerala University Astronomical Observatory | Special arrangement
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THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The Kerala University’s Astronomical Observatory here has traced the path of the elusive comet C/2023 A3 (Tsuchinshan-ATLAS), dubbed as ‘comet of the century’, and also recorded some of its unique features.

C/2023 A3 was most visible on October 12, when it made its closest approach to Earth. But, residents of the capital city missed viewing it with the naked eye due to city light pollution and thick cloud cover blocking the view of the western sky.

The comet has an extremely long orbital period, taking roughly 80,000 years to complete one orbit around the sun. According to astronomers, the last time it passed Earth, humans were just beginning to migrate out of Africa.

C/2023 A3 is a comet from the Oort cloud discovered by the Purple Mountain Observatory in China on January 9, 2023, and independently found by ATLAS South Africa on February 22, 2023.“The comet, which has been observed from all over the world since September 27 with the naked eye, had remained elusive even to our telescopes till Wednesday night,” Prof R Jayakrishnan, Director of the Observatory, told TNIE.

Rahul Dev, who is in charge of the Observatory’s arsenal of telescopes, and C Fazil, who recently joined as a research assistant, were credited with tracking and closely observing the comet.

According to Jayakrishnan, an interesting feature of the comet is that it has temporarily turned into a unicorn during which it showed a thin streak of light opposite its dust tail, resembling a unicorn’s horn.

“In astronomy, this phenomenon is known as an anti-tail. It becomes visible only when the Earth is crossing the comet’s orbital plane,” he said.

The comet is passing through the Orion constellation on Thursday and the Observatory expects to track it further for the next three days, if the weather permits. The Observatory is open for the public to view the comet provided the sky is clear, Jayakrishan said.

THE CHALLENGES

Since September 2022, the observatory has consistently picked up deep sky objects braving not only the city lights but also the poor weather conditions. Located opposite the Napier Museum, the observatory is now over-arched with a tree line and a broader view of the sky has been hindered by newly constructed high-rise apartments. “Over and above, we have rain, mist and vehicular air pollution. So the window to catch such objects by the Observatory is becoming smaller with each passing day,” Jayakrishnan said.

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