Comet C/2023 A3 (Tsuchinshan-ATLAS) approaches perihelion.

Comet C/2023 A3 (Tsuchinshan-ATLAS) will reach perihelion (its closest approach to the Sun) on Friday 27 September 2024, when it will be 0.39 AU from the Sun (39% of the distance between the Earth of the Sun, slightly outside the orbit of the planet Mercury). At this distance the comet will be barely naked eye visible in the constellation of Sextans, having a magnitude about 3.9, but should be quite easy to distinguish with even a small telescope.

Comet C/2023 A3 (Tsuchinshan-ATLAS) on 16 June 2024. Composite image made up from seven 120 second exposures from the the Celestron 14"-F8/8.4 (356/3000 mm) Schmidt-Cassegrain Telescope at Ceccano in Italy. Gianluca Masi/Virtual Telescope Project.

C/2023 A3 (Tsuchinshan-ATLAS) was discovered on 9 January 2023 by the Purple Mountain Observatory in Jiangsu Province, China, on 9 January 2023, and independently by the Asteroid Terrestrial-impact Last Alert System (ATLAS) facility in Northern Cape Province, South Africa on 22 February of the same year. The name C/2023 A3 (Tsuchinshan-ATLAS) implies that the object is a comet 'C', that it was the third such object (3) discovered in the first half of January 2023 (period 2023 A) and that it was discovered by the Purple Mountain Observatory (Tsuchinshan is a transliteration of the Chinese 紫金山'', meaning Purple Mountain)  and the ATLAS system.

The trajectory of C/2023 A3 (Tsuchinshan-ATLAS), and its position on 27 September 2024. JPL Small Body Database.

Comet C/2023 A3 (Tsuchinshan-ATLAS) is a Parabolic Comet, which is to say a comet that was disrupted from an orbit in the Oort Cloud, and is passing through the Inner Solar System on a parabolic orbit that will probably not bring it back again. This parabolic trajectory is tilted at an angle of 139.11° to the plain of the Solar System.

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Comet C/2021 S3 (PANSTARRS) makes its closest approach to the Earth.

Comet C/2021 S3 (PANSTARRS) will pass by the Earth at a distance of 194 168 000 km (130% of the distance between the Earth and the Sun), on Friday 15 March 2024. At this time the comet will be in the constellation of Aquila, with a magnitude of 7.20, which is bright enough to be visible with a small telescope or large pair of binoculars.

An image of Comet C/2021 S3 (PANSTARRS) taken on 5 February 2023 with the iTelescope T30 Telescope at Siding Spring Observatory in New South Wales. The image is a composite of three 180 second images. Taras Prystavski/Astrobin.

Comet C/2021 S3 (PANSTARRS) was discovered on 26 September 2021 by the PANSTARRS sky survey, located at Haleakala Observatory, Hawaii. The name C/2021 S3 (PANSTARRS) implies that it is a Comet (C/), that it was the 3rd comet discovered in the second half of September 2021 (period 2023 S), and that it was discovered by the PANSTARRS sky survey.

Comet C/2021 S3 (PANSTARRS) is a Parabolic Comet, which is to say a comet that was disrupted from an orbit in the Oort Cloud, and is passing through the Inner Solar System on a parabolic orbit that will probably not bring it back again. This parabolic trajectory is tilted at an angle of 58.53° to the plain of the Solar System.

The trajectory of Comet C/2021 S3 (PANSTARRS), and its position aon 15 March 2024. JPL Small Body Database.

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Comet C/2023 H2 (Lemmon) approaches perihelion.

Comet C/2023 H2 (Lemmon) will reach its perihelion (the closest point on its orbit to the Sun) on Sunday 29 October 2023, when it will be approximately 0.89 AU from the Sun (i.e. 89% of the distance from the Sun to the planet Earth, or 133 142 000 km). At this time the comet will be 0.49 AU from the Earth, in the constellation of Canes Venatici, having a magnitude of 7.1, making it visible from the Northern Hemisphere with a good pair of binoculars or small telescope.

C/2023 H2 (Lemmon) (green object at centre of picture) observed from Lleida in Spain on 23 September 2023. Exposure time on image was 1 hour. Didac Mesa Romeu/Seichi Yoshida.

Comet C/2023 H2 (Lemmon) was discovered on 28 April 2023 by the University of Arizona's Mt. Lemmon Survey at the Steward Observatory on Mount Lemmon in the Catalina Mountains north of Tucson. The designation C/2019 U6 (Lemmon) implies that it is a comet (C/), that it was the second comet-like body (2) discovered in the second half of April 2023 (period 2023 H - the year being split into 24 half-months represented by the letters A-Y, with I being excluded), and that it was discovered by the Mount Lemmon Survey (Lemmon).

The orbit and position of Comet C/2023 H2 (Lemmon) on 29 October 2023.  JPL Small Body Database.

Comet C/2023 H2 (Lemmon) has an orbital period of 3876 years and a highly eccentric orbit tilted at an angle of 114° to the plain of the Solar System, that brings it from 0.89 AU from the Sun at closest perihelion (89% of the distance between the Earth and the Sun to 493 AU from the Sun at aphelion (493 times as far from the Sun as the Earth or about 16.4 times as far from the Sun as the planet Neptune, and considerably outside the Kuiper Belt). As a comet with a period of more than 200 years, C/2023 H2 (Lemmon) is considered to be a non-Periodic Comet, since it is unlikely that it would be identified as the same body on another visit to the Inner Solar System.

Comet C/2023 H2 (Lemmon) is expected to pass by ot Earth on 10 November 2023, when the comet will reach 0.19 AU (28 424 000 km) from the planet at about 11.45 pm GMT. This is close for a cometary fly by of the Earth, although it will probably still not be naked eye visible.

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Comet C/2023 P1 (Nishimura) approaches perihelion.

Comet C/2023 P1 (Nishimura) will reach its perihelion (the closest point on its orbit to the Sun) slightly 3.25 pm GMT on Sunday 17 September 2023, when it will be approximately 0.23 AU from the Sun (i.e. 23% of the distance from the Sun to the planet Earth, or 33 689 000 km). At this time the comet will be 0.93 AU from the Earth, in the constellation of Virgo, having a magnitude of 2.1, which under other circumstances might make it naked-eye visible, although its proximity to the Sun will prevent observations and make it dagerous to look for without specialist equipment.

Comet C/2023 P1 (Nishimura) observed from Ceccano, Italy,, on 5 September 2023, using the Virtual Telescope Project ARTEC 10″-F/4.5 (250/1125 MM) telescope. Image is a composite made from eight 60 second exposures, with stars appearing slightly elongated as the telescope tracked the comet. Gianluca Masi/Virtual Telescope Project.

Comet C/2023 P1 (Nishimura) was discovered on 12 August 2023 Japanese amateur astronomer Hideo Nishimura. The name C/2023 P1 (Nishimura) implies that it is a Comet (C/), that it was the 1st comet discovered in the first half of August 2023 (period 2023 P), and that it was discovered by Nishimura.

Comet C/2023 P1 (Nishimura) has an orbital period of 434 years and a highly eccentric orbit tilted at an angle of 132° to the plain of the Solar System, that brings it from 0.23 AU from the Sun at closest perihelion (23% of the distance between the Earth and the Sun, and considerably inside the orbit of Mercury) to 114 AU from the Sun at aphelion (114 times as far from the Sun as the Earth or a little under four times as far from the Sun as the planet Neptune, and slightly outside the Kuiper Belt). As a comet with a period of more than 200 years, C/2023 P1 (Nishimura) is considered to be a non-Periodic Comet, since it is unlikely that it would be identified as the same body on another visit to the Inner Solar System.

The orbit and position of Comet C/2023 P1 (Nishimura) on 17 September 2023.  JPL Small Body Database.

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Comet C/2023 P1 (Nishimura) makes its closest pass to the Earth.

Comet C/2023 P1 (Nishimura) will pass by the Earth at a distance of 125 363 000 km (83.8% of the distance between the Earth and the Sun), on Tuesday 12 September 2023. At this time the comet will be in the constellation of Leo, but will not be visible due to its proximity to the Sun.

Comet C/2023 P1 (Nishimura), imaged from the Trevinca-Skies remote-astronomy facility at A Veiga in Ourense Province, Spain, 0n 25 August 2023. Image is a composite made up of four 30 second exposures. Stars in background are slightly elongated due to their movement relative to the comet over this time interval. Wikimedia Commons.

Comet C/2023 P1 (Nishimura) was discovered on 12 August 2023 Japanese amateur astronomer Hideo Nishimura. The name C/2023 P1 (Nishimura) implies that it is a Comet (C/), that it was the 1st comet discovered in the first half of August 2023 (period 2023 P), and that it was discovered by Nishimura.

Comet C/2023 P1 (Nishimura) has an orbital period of 434 years and a highly eccentric orbit tilted at an angle of 132° to the plain of the Solar System, that brings it from 0.23 AU from the Sun at closest perihelion (23% of the distance between the Earth and the Sun, and considerably inside the orbit of Mercury) to 114 AU from the Sun at aphelion (114 times as far from the Sun as the Earth or a little under four times as far from the Sun as the planet Neptune, and slightly outside the Kuiper Belt). As a comet with a period of more than 200 years, C/2023 P1 (Nishimura) is considered to be a non-Periodic Comet, since it is unlikely that it would be identified as the same body on another visit to the Inner Solar System.

The orbit and position of Comet C/2023 P1 (Nishimura) on 12 September 2023.  JPL Small Body Database.

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Comet C/2019 K7 (Smith) reaches perihelion.

Comet  C/2019 K7 (Smith) will reach its perihelion (the closest point on its orbit to the Sun) at 6.32 pm GMT on Tuesday 16 June 2020, when it was approximately 4.48 AU from the Sun (i.e. 448% of the distance between the Earth and the Sun, roughly three times as far from the Sun as the planet Mars). At this time the comet will be 3.81 AU from the Earth, in the constellation of Delphinus, having a magnitude of 16.0 (roughly the same as Pluto's moon Charon), making it visible with only the largest Earth-based telescopes, although it may be possible to capture an image of it with a smaller telescope linked to a camera with a sufficiently long exposure.

Comet C/2019 K7 (Smith) imaged on 5 October 2019 using a 60 second exposure of from a 345 mm telescope. The comet is the point at the centre of the image indicated by the two yellow lines. Toshihiko Ikemura/Hirohisa Sato/Seiichi Yoshida.

Comet C/2019 K7 (Smith) was discovered on 30 May 2019 by astronomer Ken Smith using the Atlas MLO Telescope at Mauna Loa Observatory in Hawaii. The designation C/2019 K7 (Smith) implies that the object is a comet (C/), that it was the seventh such object discovered (7) in the second half of May 2019 (period 2019 K) and that it was discovered by Smith.

The orbit and current position of C/2019 K7 (Smith). The Sky Live 3D Solar System Simulator.

C/2019 K7 (Smith) is a Parabolic Comet, which is to say a comet that has been disrupted from an orbit in the Oort Cloud, and to be passing through the Inner Solar System on a parabolic orbit that will probably not bring it back again. This parabolic trajectory tilted at an angle of 103° to the plain of the Solar System.

 

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