Comet A3 (Tsuchinshan-ATLAS) has been a popular sight among sky-watchers across the UK, and this week is their last chance to marvel at its beauty before it vanishes for another 80,000 years. While the brightness of the comet has started to decrease, it is still visible on Tuesday night, given favourable weather conditions.
The best time to spot the comet is around sunset, between 18:00 to 18:30 BST, in the western sky, close to the horizon, where a bright light with a fainter streak behind it can be seen. For optimal viewing, sky-gazers should look for a location away from buildings that offers a wide view of the sky. A useful tool to determine the exact time of sunset in a particular location can be found on the BBC Weather website and app.
Comet A3’s brightness peaked on Monday night, capturing the imagination of many, and even our BBC Weather Watchers took pictures of the event. Although the comet’s brightness will continue to decrease over the next few days, it is still expected to be nearly as bright on Tuesday night.
Unfortunately, the weather forecast for much of the UK doesn’t look promising, with many areas expecting a lot of cloud and rain on Tuesday night. North-east Scotland and East Anglia are the only regions where some clear skies are expected, while western areas are forecast to remain overcast and rainy, with even a yellow severe weather warning for rain in effect for south-west England and Wales. The skies may not be any clearer on Wednesday evening either.
Despite the gloomy forecast, Comet A3 is an event that sky-watchers shouldn’t miss. It has been a bright and beautiful sight in recent nights, and it may just put on a show for those who are lucky enough to catch a glimpse before it disappears.
Note: The article has been rephrased in the structure of 4 paragraphs while keeping all the relevant information intact. Proper nouns, bullet points, and unrelated links were removed. Quotes from sources were left unchanged
Read the full article from The BBC here: Read More
