Residents of the entire electronic capital of the country were recently amazed by the clear skies in the city. As shades of pink, green and yellow formed picturesque lines across the sky, netizens took to social media to express their amazement and spark debate.
While many thought the beautiful canvas was just another natural phenomenon, it was actually a comet visiting the solar system after an 80,000-year hiatus, astrophotographers said. The clear sky was caused by comet C/2023 A3 (Tsuchinshan–ATLAS), which was seen on Monday, September 30.
The Purple Mountain Observatory in China discovered the comet on January 9, 2023. A month later, after its observation, the comet was independently observed by the Asteroid Terrestrial-Impact Last Alert System (ATLAS) in South Africa, from which it derives its name.
Tsuchinshan-ATLAS is an aperiodic comet. Unlike better-known comets such as Halley’s Comet, this one is unpredictable in its appearance. Its sighting over Bengaluru provided sky watchers with a rare and exciting opportunity.
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Part of the constellation Sextans
According to the Deccan Chronicle, residents of Hyderabad can also catch a glimpse of the comet till Wednesday, October 2.
“A comet is visiting the Solar System after more than 80,000 years. It is approximately 129.6 million kilometers away from Earth and is currently in the constellation Sextans,” Deccan Chronicle reported, citing DC-based astrophotographer Upendra Pinnelli.
