Rare comet visible in Pakistan after 80,000-year solar system journey

Comet Tsuchinshan-ATLAS, discovered by China’s Tsuchinshan Observatory in January 2023, is now visible from Earth after completing an 80,000-year journey around the outer reaches of the solar system, according to a statement from the Pakistan Space and Upper Atmosphere Research Commission (SUPARCO).

For the next two weeks, the comet will be visible to the naked eye in the eastern sky an hour before sunrise, SUPARCO spokesperson Marya Tariq told Nukta. After October 12, it will shift to the western sky, visible shortly after sunset.

Zain Rahim, head of observational astronomy at SUPARCO, explained that comets are a natural part of the solar system, with billions of them orbiting the sun in long elliptical paths.

“Many comets have not even completed one orbit in human history,” Rahim said, citing Halley's Comet, which returns to Earth’s vicinity every 72 to 76 years.

Halley's Comet as taken March 8, 1986 by W. Liller, Easter Island, part of the International Halley Watch (IHW) Large Scale Phenomena Network.NASA

Comets are made up of ice, rock, and dust. As they approach the sun, they heat up, causing their characteristic tails to form. "Comets have two tails—one visible and one electromagnetic, detectable with instruments," Rahim said.

Named after its discoverers, the Tsuchinshan-ATLAS comet was first observed by China’s space agency and later by NASA. It is currently passing through the constellation Leo and will be closest to the sun in late September and early October, making it visible worldwide, including in Pakistan.

Tsuchinshan–ATLAS A3, Sindh, Pakistan, 25th September, 2024.Courtesy: SUPARCO

The comet is orbiting 119 million kilometers from the sun, Rahim added. Historically viewed as omens, comets are now understood as icy remnants from the outer solar system’s Oort Cloud, a distant shell of icy bodies.

Tsuchinshan-ATLAS will be closest to Earth at a distance of 25 million miles, visible in the eastern sky at around 4:45 a.m., with optimal viewing at 5:05 a.m. It will remain visible until October 3.