APOD: Comet Tsuchinshan-ATLAS over California (2024 Oct 21)

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APOD: Comet Tsuchinshan-ATLAS over California (2024 Oct 21)

Post by APOD Robot » Mon Oct 21, 2024 4:08 am

Image Comet Tsuchinshan-ATLAS over California

Explanation: The tails of Comet Tsuchinshan-ATLAS were a sight to behold. Pictured, C/2023 A3 (Tsuchinshan–ATLAS) was captured near peak impressiveness last week over the Eastern Sierra Mountains in California, USA. The comet not only showed a bright tail, but a distinct anti-tail pointing in nearly the opposite direction. The globular star cluster M5 can be seen on the right, far in the distance. As it approached, it was unclear if this crumbling iceberg would disintegrate completely as it warmed in the bright sunlight. In reality, the comet survived to become brighter than any star in the night (magnitude -4.9), but unfortunately was then so nearly in front of the Sun that it was hard for many casual observers to locate. Whether Comet Tsuchinshan-Atlas becomes known as the Great Comet of 2024 now depends, in part, on how impressive incoming comet C/2024 S1 (ATLAS) becomes over the next two weeks.

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Re: APOD: Comet Tsuchinshan-ATLAS over California (2024 Oct 21)

Post by Ann » Mon Oct 21, 2024 4:51 am

I should not be the first one to comment, given what I'm going to say, but... I'm the Color Commentator, and I've got to ask - what color is that comet???


I looked through a number of shades of yellow to try to find the hue that matches the comet. I think it is this one, ███. The name of this hue, if you are interested, is Earth Yellow.

Star cluster M5 also looks yellowish. But its color is more reasonable, as we expect the brightest stars of a globular cluster to be red giants. Even so, I'd say that it looks as if "the yellow channel may have been saturated".

APOD 21 October 2024 detail.png

To me it is impossible to disregard the weird color of the comet. Nevertheless, the picture is impressive. It could have been a still from a science fiction movie where alien invaders fire an Earth Yellow-colored death ray at the Eastern Sierra Mountains of California.

Scary!!! 👽 :rocketship: :ohno:

Ann
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Last edited by Ann on Mon Oct 21, 2024 5:56 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: APOD: Comet Tsuchinshan-ATLAS over California (2024 Oct 21)

Post by AVAO » Mon Oct 21, 2024 5:17 am

APOD Robot wrote: Mon Oct 21, 2024 4:08 am Image Comet Tsuchinshan-ATLAS over California

Explanation: The tails of Comet Tsuchinshan-ATLAS were a sight to behold. Pictured, C/2023 A3 (Tsuchinshan–ATLAS) was captured near peak impressiveness last week over the Eastern Sierra Mountains in California, USA. The comet not only showed a bright tail, but a distinct anti-tail pointing in nearly the opposite direction. The globular star cluster M5 can be seen on the right, far in the distance. As it approached, it was unclear if this crumbling iceberg would disintegrate completely as it warmed in the bright sunlight. In reality, the comet survived to become brighter than any star in the night (magnitude -4.9), but unfortunately was then so nearly in front of the Sun that it was hard for many casual observers to locate. Whether Comet Tsuchinshan-Atlas becomes known as the Great Comet of 2024 now depends, in part, on how impressive incoming comet C/2024 S1 (ATLAS) becomes over the next two weeks.

<< Previous APOD This Day in APOD Next APOD >>

Great image by Brian Fulda showing the amazing comet and its antitail pointing almost in the opposite direction.
Also interesting is M5, the "small" star cluster next to it. In "reality" it is much larger than it appears in the photo.

Click to view full size image 1 or image 2
Original picture, Credit & Copyright: Brian Fulda - APOD 2024 October 21 - Comet Tsuchinshan-ATLAS over California


In the image from Brian Fulda you can already see the inner flower-shaped structure of the cluster very well. This becomes very obvious in the UV, e.g. from GALEX.

Original data: NASA/ESA (GALEX)

Click to view full size image 1 or image 2
Original data: NASA/ESA (GALEX and RGB (Red:SST, Green:HST, Blue:GALEX)

Click to view full size image 1 or image 2
Original data: composit with HST-infill

Credit: NASA/ESA (HST)
ZOOOM: https://esahubble.org/images/potw1118a/zoomable/
Last edited by AVAO on Tue Oct 22, 2024 5:12 am, edited 1 time in total.

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Re: APOD: Comet Tsuchinshan-ATLAS over California (2024 Oct 21)

Post by johnnydeep » Mon Oct 21, 2024 9:23 pm

AVAO wrote:In the image from Brian Fulda you can already see the inner flower-shaped structure of the cluster [M5] very well. This becomes very obvious in the UV, e.g. from GALEX.
I see no structure other than a cloud of stars whose density increases toward the center.
--
"To B̬̻̋̚o̞̮̚̚l̘̲̀᷾d̫͓᷅ͩḷ̯᷁ͮȳ͙᷊͠ Go......Beyond The F͇̤i̙̖e̤̟l̡͓d͈̹s̙͚ We Know."{ʲₒʰₙNYᵈₑᵉₚ}

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Re: APOD: Comet Tsuchinshan-ATLAS over California (2024 Oct 21)

Post by Ann » Tue Oct 22, 2024 4:11 am

AVAO wrote: Mon Oct 21, 2024 5:17 am
APOD Robot wrote: Mon Oct 21, 2024 4:08 am Image Comet Tsuchinshan-ATLAS over California

Explanation: The tails of Comet Tsuchinshan-ATLAS were a sight to behold. Pictured, C/2023 A3 (Tsuchinshan–ATLAS) was captured near peak impressiveness last week over the Eastern Sierra Mountains in California, USA. The comet not only showed a bright tail, but a distinct anti-tail pointing in nearly the opposite direction. The globular star cluster M5 can be seen on the right, far in the distance. As it approached, it was unclear if this crumbling iceberg would disintegrate completely as it warmed in the bright sunlight. In reality, the comet survived to become brighter than any star in the night (magnitude -4.9), but unfortunately was then so nearly in front of the Sun that it was hard for many casual observers to locate. Whether Comet Tsuchinshan-Atlas becomes known as the Great Comet of 2024 now depends, in part, on how impressive incoming comet C/2024 S1 (ATLAS) becomes over the next two weeks.

<< Previous APOD This Day in APOD Next APOD >>

Great image by Brian Fulda showing the amazing comet and its antitail pointing almost in the opposite direction.
Also interesting is M5, the "small" star cluster next to it. In "reality" it is much larger than it appears in the photo.

Click to view full size image 1 or image 2
Original picture, Credit & Copyright: Brian Fulda - APOD 2024 October 21 - Comet Tsuchinshan-ATLAS over California


In the image from Brian Fulda you can already see the inner flower-shaped structure of the cluster very well. This becomes very obvious in the UV, e.g. from GALEX.

Original data: NASA/ESA (GALEX)

Click to view full size image 1 or image 2
Original data: NASA/ESA (GALEX and RGB (Red:SST, Green:HST, Blue:GALEX)

Click to view full size image 1 or image 2
Original data: composit with HST-infill

Credit: NASA/ESA (HST)
ZOOOM: https://esahubble.org/images/potw1118a/zoomable/
Thanks again for your beautiful images, Jac! I very much like your "enlargement" of cluster M5 relative to the comet, and I'm particularly partial to the "GALEX only" image at top - how I miss GALEX!!! - and to your next, very colorful image. Thank you! (Of course the Hubble zoom is just great, too...)

Ann
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Re: APOD: Comet Tsuchinshan-ATLAS over California (2024 Oct 21)

Post by AVAO » Tue Oct 22, 2024 5:30 am

johnnydeep wrote: Mon Oct 21, 2024 9:23 pm
AVAO wrote:In the image from Brian Fulda you can already see the inner flower-shaped structure of the cluster [M5] very well. This becomes very obvious in the UV, e.g. from GALEX.
I see no structure other than a cloud of stars whose density increases toward the center.

Well, as Ann wrote, with GALEX you can still see the structure with a little imagination. You have to imagine the leaves yourself.
...But I just like cosmic roses, whether in UV or IR ,-) ...
IC 5146: The Cocoon Nebula (APOD 2024 Aug 19) Original data: NASA/ESA (SST)
compare: viewtopic.php?p=340086#p340086

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Re: APOD: Comet Tsuchinshan-ATLAS over California (2024 Oct 21)

Post by johnnydeep » Tue Oct 22, 2024 3:53 pm

AVAO wrote: Tue Oct 22, 2024 5:30 am
johnnydeep wrote: Mon Oct 21, 2024 9:23 pm
AVAO wrote:In the image from Brian Fulda you can already see the inner flower-shaped structure of the cluster [M5] very well. This becomes very obvious in the UV, e.g. from GALEX.
I see no structure other than a cloud of stars whose density increases toward the center.

Well, as Ann wrote, with GALEX you can still see the structure with a little imagination. You have to imagine the leaves yourself.
...But I just like cosmic roses, whether in UV or IR ,-) ...
IC 5146: The Cocoon Nebula (APOD 2024 Aug 19) Original data: NASA/ESA (SST)
compare: viewtopic.php?p=340086#p340086
Ok, that image shows structure, but where is this GALEX image of M5 that does too? I don't seem to see it in either yours or Ann's post.
--
"To B̬̻̋̚o̞̮̚̚l̘̲̀᷾d̫͓᷅ͩḷ̯᷁ͮȳ͙᷊͠ Go......Beyond The F͇̤i̙̖e̤̟l̡͓d͈̹s̙͚ We Know."{ʲₒʰₙNYᵈₑᵉₚ}

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Re: APOD: Comet Tsuchinshan-ATLAS over California (2024 Oct 21)

Post by Ann » Tue Oct 22, 2024 5:21 pm

johnnydeep wrote: Tue Oct 22, 2024 3:53 pm
AVAO wrote: Tue Oct 22, 2024 5:30 am
johnnydeep wrote: Mon Oct 21, 2024 9:23 pm

I see no structure other than a cloud of stars whose density increases toward the center.

Well, as Ann wrote, with GALEX you can still see the structure with a little imagination. You have to imagine the leaves yourself.
...But I just like cosmic roses, whether in UV or IR ,-) ...
IC 5146: The Cocoon Nebula (APOD 2024 Aug 19) Original data: NASA/ESA (SST)
compare: viewtopic.php?p=340086#p340086
Ok, that image shows structure, but where is this GALEX image of M5 that does too? I don't seem to see it in either yours or Ann's post.
The GALEX image of M5 is this one.



There is no nebulosity around M5, but in ultraviolet light I still think it looks a bit like a rose!

M5 ultaviolet rose GALEX Jac Berne.png

Ann
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Re: APOD: Comet Tsuchinshan-ATLAS over California (2024 Oct 21)

Post by johnnydeep » Tue Oct 22, 2024 7:00 pm

Ann wrote: Tue Oct 22, 2024 5:21 pm
johnnydeep wrote: Tue Oct 22, 2024 3:53 pm
AVAO wrote: Tue Oct 22, 2024 5:30 am


Well, as Ann wrote, with GALEX you can still see the structure with a little imagination. You have to imagine the leaves yourself.
...But I just like cosmic roses, whether in UV or IR ,-) ...
IC 5146: The Cocoon Nebula (APOD 2024 Aug 19) Original data: NASA/ESA (SST)
compare: viewtopic.php?p=340086#p340086
Ok, that image shows structure, but where is this GALEX image of M5 that does too? I don't seem to see it in either yours or Ann's post.
The GALEX image of M5 is this one.



There is no nebulosity around M5, but in ultraviolet light I still think it looks a bit like a rose!


M5 ultaviolet rose GALEX Jac Berne.png


Ann
Thanks. I see it now, but requires a heaping dose of "fill in the blanks"!
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"To B̬̻̋̚o̞̮̚̚l̘̲̀᷾d̫͓᷅ͩḷ̯᷁ͮȳ͙᷊͠ Go......Beyond The F͇̤i̙̖e̤̟l̡͓d͈̹s̙͚ We Know."{ʲₒʰₙNYᵈₑᵉₚ}