An incredible moment! A comet that appears once every 80 thousand years was captured in a photo from space

NASA astronauts aboard the International Space Station (ISS) have photographed comet C/2023 A3, also known as Tsuchinshan-ATLAS, which is currently flying over the Earth. The comet, which appears once every 80 thousand years, was captured against the backdrop of the aurora borealis, and the tail of this bright "star" was also captured.

The astronauts shared the incredible photos of Tsuchinshan-ATLAS on their X network page. The tailed traveler, which is traveling at a speed of 70 km/s, can be observed from the Earth with the naked eye during two viewing windows, the first of which ends today, October 2, and the second will begin on October 13.

NASA astronauts Matthew Dominick and Don Pettit, currently on the International Space Station, are avid astrophotographers. Using orbital geometry and mathematics, they calculate interesting astronomical phenomena and record them from the dome.

That's how they managed to capture comet C/2023 A3, which had just appeared in Earth orbit.

"It's absolutely amazing to see the comet from orbit," wrote Matthew Dominick in a post on the X platform.

Later, the astronauts filmed Tsuchinshan-ATLAS from a different angle, when its tail was already clearly visible. "Wow, Comet C/2023-A3 is growing a long tail!" Don Pettit wrote under the photo.

The space rock comes from the Oort Cloud, a giant shell around our solar system that contains millions of comets and other icy debris, TheSun reports.

Comet Tsuchinshan-ATLAS is characterized by a long tail of dust and ice. It is this tail that makes the comet more visible for observation, especially during the peak of brightness.

Ukrainians also still have a chance to see the "comet of the century" C/2023 A3, which will come as close to Earth as possible on October 13-15.

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