Comet's Ghost Tail: The Celestial Illusion From Earth's ViewBinyu WangAward: Top 100
School: anhui jieshou no.1 middle school C/2023 A3 (Tsuchinshan–ATLAS) is one of the greatest comet in recent years, which was discovered by the Tsuchinshan Observatory in China and ATLAS in South Africa. The comet peaked its brightest magnitude in period around 9 October 2024, shortly after passing perihelion on 27 September, and could easily be seen by naked eye. So, I rushed to go Inner Mongolia, where you can find one of the greatest dark-sky condition in China, to capture such amazing astronomy phenomenon. Then, I was shocked when it appeared out of the twilight in the western sky. When I looked through camera screen, to see the long-exposure single image of the comet, I found something much more incredible! The comet not only showed a bright tail, but also a distinct, faint, downward or sun-directed tail pointing in nearly the opposite direction, which is called the anti-tail. That is because our earth was crossing the comet's orbital plane, where the comet leaved its dust that reflecting sun light, which means it is an optical illusion. After my initial excitement, I began trying to just enjoy this beautiful scene: the huge comet hung on the sky, while the moonlight bathed the grassland and river. As it faded beyond the edge of the horizon, it's time to say goodbye Comet Tsuchinshan-ATLAS. Perhaps you'll vanish like the river water--flow away and never return. 
|
|