The comet flying over Luxembourg can be observed until the end of the week
Daniil Silantev, Unsplash
Comet Tsuchinshan-ATLAS, discovered in January 2023 by China's Purple Mountain Observatory, has become visible again after moving away from the Sun. It can now be observed for ten days in the northern hemisphere and therefore also in Luxembourg. As the comet approaches the Sun, its ice begins to vaporise, forming a long tail of dust, making it visible even to the naked eye.
The comet was first spotted in September in the southern hemisphere, and was then spotted again in North America. Tsuchinshan-ATLAS can now be seen in the West of the sky in the evening, although its brightness gradually decreases as it moves away from the Sun. It is estimated that its orbit will not approach Earth for another 80,000 years.
The comet probably originated in the Oort cloud, a distant region at the edge of the solar system. Its journey took millions of years before it became visible from Earth.
