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View at EarthSky Community Photos. | Lucy Yunxi Hu in Lake George, Australia, captured this time slice of Comet A3 rising at dawn on September 21, 2024. Lucy said: “The image was shot during the blue hour (between 4:28 and 4:53 am local time).” Thank you, Lucy!

Comet A3 Tsuchinshan-ATLAS is making an impressive appearance in morning skies at the moment. The comet – which survived rumors of its disintegration – made its closest approach to the sun on September 27, 2024. The comet’s closest approach to Earth will be on October 12. It should transition from a morning object to an evening object around that date. Try to see it for yourself! And in the meantime, enjoy these images from EarthSky community members around the world.

Have a great photo of your own to share? Submit it to us!

Comet A3 photo gallery

Dark hillside with lightening sky behind and a white comet with long tail above.
View at EarthSky Community Photos. | Tameem Altameemi in United Arab Emirates captured Comet A3 on September 27, 2024. Tameem wrote: “It’s currently in the constellation of Sextans, at a distance of more than 139 million kilometers from Earth.” Thank you, Tameem!
Pinkish blue sky with a comet above a city with lights.
View at EarthSky Community Photos. | Roosevelt Silva in Formosa, Brazil, captured this view of the comet on September 25, 2024. Thank you, Roosevelt!
Rainbow-colored sky before dawn with a white comet with a tail going to the upper right.
View at EarthSky Community Photos. | Saeed Ahmed Abbasi in Kandiaro, Sindh, Pakistan, captured our “celestial visitor” on September 24, 2024. Thank you, Saeed!
Pinkish purple sky with a dim white comet at center.
View at EarthSky Community Photos. | Stephen James O’Meara in Maun, Botswana, captured Comet A3 on September 24, 2024. James wrote: “This view is representative of how the comet appears through 8×42 binoculars.” Thank you, James!

More images from just the Southern Hemisphere images

Dark blue sky with comet, a tiny white dot with a tail, among streaky orange clouds.
Victor Rivera in Puerto Rico captured Comet A3 on September 22, 2024. Thank you, Victor! Used with permission.
Tiny comet in a medium blue sunset sky with tail pointing up.
Comet A3 (Tsuchinshan–ATLAS) on September 18, 2024, from Queensland, Australia. Terry Lovejoy took this image and estimated the magnitude at 4.0. He said the comet was visible dimly in 10×42 binoculars as a fuzzy star with a hint of tail. Used with permission.
A comet - a white dot with a tail - in dusky blue sky above foreground trees.
Michael Mattiazzo in Australia captured this view of Comet A3 on September 17, 2024. Thank you, Michael! Used with permission.
Two rocky projections with a comet above and between them in a somewhat dark sky.
Terry Lovejoy captured Comet A3 from Queensland, Australia, on September 16, 2024. Thank you, Terry! Used with permission.
A dusk sky with some stars and a comet with a fuzzy, short tail going straight up.
Michael Mattiazzo captured this image of Comet A3 on September 15, 2024, from Victoria, Australia. Thank you, Michael! Used with permission.

Epic images from social media

Bottom line: Check out this gorgeous photos of Comet A3 Tsuchinshan-ATLAS contributed by EarthSky community members from around the world.

Kelly Kizer Whitt

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About the Author:

Kelly Kizer Whitt is a writer and editor for EarthSky, and on YouTube she’s EarthSky’s roving nature reporter. Kelly has been writing about science, with a focus on astronomy, for decades. She began her career at Astronomy Magazine and made regular contributions to other outlets, including AstronomyToday and the Sierra Club. She has nine published books, including a children’s picture book, Solar System Forecast, and a young adult dystopian novel, A Different Sky. Kelly enjoys reading, visiting the national parks, creating crossword puzzles, running, tennis and paddleboarding.



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Author: Space and Astronomy News

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