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Ephemeris: 10/15/2024 – Comet Tsuchinshan-ATLAS should be visible this week if clouds allow

October 15, 2024 Comments off

This is Bob Moler with Ephemeris for Tuesday, October 15th. Today the Sun will be up for 10 hours and 58 minutes, setting at 6:57, and it will rise tomorrow at 8:00. The Moon, 2 days before full, will set at 6:47 tomorrow morning.

Comet Tsuchinshan-ATLAS has been visible in our evening skies for the last three nights and will be at least bright enough to be seen with the naked eye. And it should be so for most of the rest of the month. However, this week so far has been cloudy, and it will be cloudy until possibly Wednesday night however Thursday and Friday look like the best for viewing of the comet. Of course this is Michigan, so don’t hold me to it. The comet has been pretty much living up to expectations as far as its brightness and the length of its tail. The comet peak brightness which came early last week, when it could only be seen during the daytime, was as bright as the planet Venus. Now that it is headed away from the Sun and the Earth it will rapidly fade.

The astronomical event times given are for the Traverse City/Interlochen area of Michigan (EDT, UT – 4 hours). Times will be different for other locations.

Addendum

This is the track of Comet Tsuchinshan-ATLAS that I posted a few days ago. Tonight’s position will be marked by 15 for the 15th of the month. The number in parentheses is a projected magnitude, which may or may not be correct. Tomorrow I will be publishing the path of the comet for the next 8 days from the 16th through the 23rd. This is the position for around 8 PM. This image was created using Stellarium.

What we’ve missed

An image of the comet taken on October 13th 2024 by Michael Jaeger from Martinsberg, Austria
This is an image of the comet taken on October 13th 2024 by Michael Jaeger from Martinsberg, Austria. This image was found on the spaceweather.com page for October 15th 2024.

It was partly cloudy on the evening of 14th, last night. I went out a little after 8 PM to see if I could spot the comet. I could see Arcturus, however I could not spot the comet or the planet Venus. However, I believe someone in our area could have spotted the comet, if they were in the right location.

Categories: Comet, Ephemeris Program, Observing Tags: ,