Celestial hemisphere:  Northern  ·  Constellation: Virgo (Vir)  ·  Contains:  Solar system body or event
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Comet 62P/Tsuchinshan in front of galaxies in Virgo, Rainer Raupach
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Comet 62P/Tsuchinshan in front of galaxies in Virgo

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Comet 62P/Tsuchinshan in front of galaxies in Virgo, Rainer Raupach
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Comet 62P/Tsuchinshan in front of galaxies in Virgo

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Description

This periodic comet is currently visible in the constellation Virgo, and although not particularly conspicuous shortly after perihelion with only ~9 mag. It appears roughly every 6.2 years and has been known since 1965. The name, unusually for "older" comets, does not come from the discoverer but is the name of the observatory in Nanjing, 紫金山天文台, with the dreamy translation "Purple Mountain Observatory" (or in German "Observatorium am purpurnen Berg" which could just as easily come from the famous children's book Jim Knopf🙂).

Not only was last year's "green comet" C/2022 E3 green in media hype, but of course, this one is too, as the green color comes from an emission band of the C2 molecule, which forms in practically every comet at the high temperatures near the Sun.

Because of its position in Virgo, many background galaxies can be seen, including about 20 brighter ones from the IC/NGC, including IC 3107 directly in the tail, as well as (theoretically) over 250 PGCs.

With a bit of luck, 62P may just be a small taste of the comet C/2023 A3 (Tsuchinshan-ATLAS), also discovered in Nanjing, which could become a much more spectacular object in October, then, according to orbital elements from mid-October, appearing deep in the western twilight in the constellation Serpens, then wandering toward Ophiuchus and visible until later in the night. Let's hope so!

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Comet 62P/Tsuchinshan in front of galaxies in Virgo, Rainer Raupach