Flint, MI – Oct. 12, 2024
A bright comet named C/2023 A3 Tsuchinshan-ATLAS will be making a dramatic appearance starting tonight. It was last seen 80,000 years ago, during the time of Neanderthals, and it likely won’t swing by earth again for another 80,000 years. It will be very low in the sky, so it's important to find a spot at sunset with a good western horizon, not blocked by trees or buildings, according to Astronomer and Longway Planetarium's Executive Director, Todd Slisher. "The comet is best viewed from a place without city light pollution, and the darker your skies, the better the view of the comet's long tail," Slisher stated. Binoculars can help improve the view.
The comet will be the brightest October 12-14, and then will slowly fade from view during the month as it gets higher in the western sky. This Oort Cloud comet, called C/2023 A3 Tsuchinshan-ATLAS, was discovered in 2023, approaching the inner solar system on its highly elliptical orbit for the first time in documented human history. It was identified by observers at China’s Tsuchinshan – or “Purple Mountain” – Observatory and an ATLAS (Asteroid Terrestrial-impact Last Alert System) telescope in South Africa, and was officially named in honor of both observatories. [C/2023 A3 Tsuchinshan-ATLAS Comet photo credit: NASA-EarthObservatory]
# # #
For Media Inquiries:
To request an interview with Astronomer and Longway Planetarium's Executive Director Todd Slisher, contact Anne Mancour, AMancour@SloanLongway.org, or call (810) 237-3443.
About Longway PlanetariumSloan Museum of Discovery and Longway Planetarium are overseen by the non-profit Flint Institute of Science and History (F.I.S.H.) with a shared mission to engage communities on a learning journey in history and science. Located within the Flint Cultural Center Campus in Flint, Michigan, Sloan Museum of Discovery opened in July, 2022, with four primary hands-on learning galleries and one exhibition hall for special traveling exhibits. The original Sloan Museum opened in 1966 as the Sloan Panorama of Transportation, named after long-time General Motors president, chairman and CEO Alfred P. Sloan. The new Sloan Museum of Discovery is nearly twice the size at 107,000 square feet and completely re-built into a re-imagined world-class, hands-on science and history museum. Longway Planetarium, named for Robert T. Longway, a community leader and one of the men responsible for the development of the Flint Cultural Center, opened in 1958 and was totally renovated in 2015. Additional upgrades to Digistar 7 projection system were made in 2021. It remains the largest planetarium in Michigan. Classes on the solar system and general science are offered to school groups and the general public. Both institutions are supported in part by the Charles Stewart Mott Foundation and Michigan Arts and Culture Council (MACC). Educational programs are supported, in part, by the Genesee County Arts Education and Cultural Enrichment Millage. Learn more at www.SloanLongway.org.
Media Contact: Anne Mancour, Marketing Manager
