Picture Alaska! Stunning snapshots of Tsuchinshan-ATLAS comet in Alaska
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (KTUU) - The comet gracing the western sky in Alaska has been quite photogenic.
The comet Tsuchinshan-ATLAS (pronounced Choo-cheen-shahn Atlas) was first discovered in China in early 2023 by the Purple Mountain Observatory. It was also seen by an ATLAS telescope in South Africa, and named in recognition of the two observatories.
NASA says the comet made its closest pass of the sun on Sept. 27, thinking that its icy composition wouldn’t withstand the sun’s intense heat.
That was not the case, and the comet ended up traveling roughly 44 million miles from Earth, but visible to the naked eye.
Meteorologist Jackie Purcell dives into the photos viewers sent in depicting the Tsuchinshan-ATLAS comet that was seen in the western sky in mid-October.
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