                        Astronomy Picture of the Day

    Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our
      fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation
                    written by a professional astronomer.

                              2024 September 30
    A picture shows clouds across the bottom and a dark night sky across
   the top. In the middle is a band of orange sky. City lights are visible
   on the right through gaps in the clouds. In the center of the upper sky
    is a comet with its tail pointing toward the upper right. Please see
               the explanation for more detailed information.

                     Comet Tsuchinshan-ATLAS over Mexico
                   Image Credit & Copyright: Daniel Korona

   Explanation: The new comet has passed its closest to the Sun and is now
   moving closer to the Earth. C/2023 A3 (Tsuchinshan–ATLAS) is currently
   moving out from inside the orbit of Venus and on track to pass its
   nearest to the Earth in about two weeks. Comet Tsuchinshan-ATLAS,
   pronounced "Choo-cheen-shahn At-less,", is near naked-eye visibility
   and easily picked up by long-exposure cameras. The comet can also now
   be found by observers in Earth's northern hemisphere as well as the
   south. The featured image was captured just a few days ago above
   Zacatecas, Mexico. Because clouds were obscuring much of the pre-dawn
   sky, the astrophotographer released a drone to take pictures from
   higher up, several of which were later merged to enhance the comet's
   visibility. Although the future brightness of comets is hard to
   predict, there is increasing hope that Comet Tsuchinshan-ATLAS will
   further brighten as it enters the early evening sky.

               Growing Gallery: Comet Tsuchinsan-ATLAS in 2024
                     Tomorrow's picture: black hole jet
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       Authors & editors: Robert Nemiroff (MTU) & Jerry Bonnell (UMCP)
            NASA Official: Amber Straughn Specific rights apply.
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                             & Michigan Tech. U.

