🔭 Comet C/2023 A3, soon to be visible to the naked eye, is fragmenting?

2024-07-30 04:00:15

A newly discovered comet, C/2023 A3, nicknamed Tsuchinshan-ATLAS, is on its way to the Sun and could be visible to the naked eye in October. However, a recent study suggests that this celestial jewel could disintegrate before then.

Comet C/2023 A3, or Tsuchinshan-ATLAS, is currently heading toward the Sun and is expected to make its closest approach to Earth in October. However, new research suggests it won’t make it.
Crédit: José J. Chambó,

First discovered by Chinese astronomers in January 2023, the Tsuchinshan-ATLAS comet has generated much excitement. Confirmed by NASA’s ATLAS alert system in February of the same year, its trajectory indicated a first close approach to the Sun, with a possible ejection out of the Solar systemThe comet is expected to reach perihelion on September 27 and make its closest approach to Earth on October 13, about 44 million miles (71 million kilometers) away. At that distance, it could shine as bright as the brightest stars in the night sky, providing a spectacle visible to the naked eye for several weeks.

However, a new study published July 8 on the arXiv preprint server by NASA’s Zdenek Sekanina challenges this perspective. Sekanina, a comet expert, says C/2023 A3 is fragmenting and may never reach perihelion. The observations show that the comet is undergoing advanced decay, with fragments gradually scattering into space.

Giant comets, such as C/2023 A3, tend to break up as they approach the Sun, as did Comet ISON in 2014. This breakup is due to the Sun’s intense gravity pulling on icy bodies. However, experts such as Nick James of the British Astronomical Association do not all share this conclusion. He says it is premature to predict with certainty when the comet will disintegrate.

Comet C/2019 Y4 disintegrated as it approached the Sun in 2020, captured here by the Hubble Space Telescope.
Credit: NASA, ESA, STScI and D. Jewitt (UCLA)

Other recent comets, such as Nishimura and 12P/Pons Brooks, have survived their close passes of the Sun, adding to the debate. The case of C/2023 A3 therefore remains uncertain, and astronomers continue to closely monitor its evolution.

C/2023 A3’s fragility is reinforced by its lack of brightness and thin dusty tail, signs that its core may be fractured. The phenomenon ofacceleration observed non-gravitational, probably caused by internal jets of gas, adds to the hypothesis of its imminent disintegration.

As the scientific community eagerly awaits further developments, one thing is clear: Comet C/2023 A3 continues to captivate and defy expectations, a reminder of the unpredictability of our Universe.

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