Here are a couple of pictures (at left and above) of Comet Tsuchinshan-ATLAS taken by a friend of mine, John Meader, a really cool and talented photographer. The one at left was a handheld photograph. Amazing. Reproduced with permission. Among other things, he runs Northern Stars Planetarium.
Tonight’s sky is looking promising. For tips on observing, see yesterday’s post! Good Luck!
If you didn’t get a chance to spot Comet Tsuchinshan-ATLAS when it was a morning object, you still have a chance to catch it as an evening object. This is the brightest comet to pass by earth in some time. You’ll want to find a viewing place with a clear horizon to the west and be looking for it shortly after sunset which is currently 5:53 PM EST here in Whitefield. By 6:30 PM it should be visible about 20° above the horizon, almost due west. You’ll also see Venus, it’ll be quite bright. The comet will be a little to the right of and above Venus. You’ll also be able to see the moon and Saturn rising in the east. The comet has already swung around the Sun and is heading out of our solar system but it should remain visible for a few weeks. The comet is about magnitude 3.6 which makes it an easy naked eye object. Bring a pair of binoculars. Good luck!
Here’s a fun to use Star chart application:
More information about the comet:
https://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/images/153444/comet-tsuchinshan-atlas-arrives-from-afar
With the arrival of the Summer Solstice, Summer here in the northern hemisphere has official started. Technically the Solstice occurred today at 4:51PM EDT On this day, the Sun rises the furthest North that it gets in it’s trip around the ecliptic. Until today, sunrise has been creeping to the left (north) as seen on Cam3 (above). It will now start moving back, to the right, towards the south. Today marks the longest day of the year and the shortest night. From now on until the Winter Solstice in December, days will be getting shorter again. Astronomically, the Summer Solstice is when the Sun in it’s path along the ecliptic reaches the furthest point north of the celestial equator. Also ironically, the Summer Solstice marks the point in the earth’s orbit around the sun when it is the furthest from the sun; the earth’s closest approach to the Sun occurs at the Winter Solstice.