接近全貌的紫金山-阿特拉斯彗星

2024年10月18日

Most of Comet Tsuchinshan-ATLAS
Image Credit & Copyright: Adam Block

Explanation: On October 14 it was hard to capture a full view of Comet C/2023 A3 Tsuchinshan-ATLAS. Taken after the comet’s closest approach to our fair planet, this evening skyview almost does though. With two telephoto frames combined, the image stretches about 26 degrees across the sky from top to bottom, looking west from Gates Pass, Tucson, Arizona. Comet watchers that night could even identify globular star cluster M5 and the faint apparition of periodic comet 13P Olbers near the long the path of Tsuchinshan-ATLAS’s whitish dust tail above the bright comet’s coma. Due to perspective as the Earth is crossing the comet’s orbital plane, Tsuchinshan-ATLAS also has a pronounced antitail. The antitail is composed of dust previously released and fanning out away from the Sun along the comet’s orbit, visible as a needle-like extension below the bright coma toward the rugged western horizon.

Growing Gallery: Comet Tsuchinshan-ATLAS in 2024
Tomorrow’s picture: light-weekend

接近全貌的紫金山-阿特拉斯彗星
影像提供与版权: Adam Block

说明: 在10月14日那天，要拍到紫金山-阿特拉斯彗星（C/2023 A3）的全貌，是相当困难的工作。然而，这幅摄于彗星最接近地球后的夜空影像，几乎达成此一目标。这幅从亚利桑那州土桑市的盖茨隘口西眺的影像，是由2张望远镜头照片组合而成，视野从上到下约莫涵盖了26度的夜空。在拍照的那晚，观看彗星的人们甚至能够认出球状星团M5，以及从紫金山-阿特拉斯彗星明亮彗发住上伸展的泛白颀长尘尾旁的昏暗周期彗星13P（奥伯斯）。由于地球此时也恰好穿过彗星的轨道面，从此一视角，见到了紫金山-阿特拉斯彗星带着明显的反彗尾。彗尾则是来自先前释放出的、散落在彗星轨道上往太阳后方分布的尘埃，而在这张影像中，它是从明亮彗发向崎岖西方地平线伸展的细长针状结构。

不断增长的画廊: 2024年的紫金山-阿特拉斯彗星
明日的图片: light-weekend