Comet Tsuchinshan-ATLAS continues its show over Maui skies

This view of the Comet Tsuchinshan-ATLAS was captured Monday night from atop Haleakalā on Maui by resident Jeanna Thacker.

She described the scene from left to right with the Milky Way Galaxy, the planet Venus, and the Comet Tsuchinshan-ATLAS all within view at around 7:05 p.m.  “I took this with a Nikon 750 and 15mm Zeiss lens. 30-sec exposure at 3.2 aperture and 2000 ISO.  We were lucky to have a nice clear night with the moon rising a few hours later,” said Thacker.

Residents throughout the state have been sending in imagery of the comet as it makes its appearance over island skies this month.

Scientific American reports the celestial object was discovered by astronomers in January 2023 through images taken at the Purple Mountain Observatory in China. The next month, astronomers spotted the object again using the NASA-funded Asteroid Terrestrial-Impact Last Alert System (ATLAS), and confirmed it was a comet as opposed to an asteroid.

NASA reports the new comet has passed its closest to the Sun and is now moving closer to the Earth. “C/2023 A3 (Tsuchinshan–ATLAS) is currently moving out from inside the orbit of Venus and on track to pass its nearest to the Earth in about two weeks,” according to a Sept. 30 update from NASA.