2023a3 20240926 mmattiazzo

With 1 day to Perihelion, the comet is looking very healthy.

Find attached image of C/2023 A3 Tsuchinshan-ATLAS taken on 2024 September 26 at 18:55UT using a C11 RASA f/2.2 + Canon 6D.

 iso1600 20x15sec. FOV 3x2 deg. North up from Swan Hill, Victoria, Australia.

A visual estimate at 19:00UT (05:00AEST Fri 27th) , using 8x40mm binoculars was magnitude 2.9 with 4' coma and strong degree of condensation DC7, tail length 4 degrees in PA259

Comparison stars Alpha Crt(4.2), Nu Hydra(3.2). Comet magnitude was corrected for atmospheric extinction using the average table.

Visible to the naked eye, appearing as a fuzzy star.

There was still 29% moonlight and twilight interference but conditions are slowly improving. Low altitude (7 degrees).

Distance to Sun = 0.39AU (59 million kms)

Distance to Earth = 0.95AU (142 million kms)

solar elongation = 23 degrees.