The Stranger
This is the comet C/2023-A3 Tsuchinshan. It has come into the inner solar system from deep in the Ort Cloud at the outer limits of the sun’s gravitational field. It’s on a hyperbolic trajectory as it passes by the sun, meaning that it’s not ever going to come back, it’s just passing through, a stranger and first time visitor to our neighborhood.
The Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, said “Be in this world as if you were a stranger or a passer by” كُن في الدُّنيا كَأنَّكَ غَرِيبٌ أو عَابِرُ سَبِيلٍٍ
Shine your light, leave behind some traces of your presence, and leave in peace the way you came in.
The first photo is a close up taken on 10/12/24.
The second photo from 10/14/24 is a wider angle and taken when the Earth was crossing the orbital plane of the comet and so we can see not only the comet’s tail flowing away from the sun, but also it’s Anti-Tail pointing back to the sun. A comet’s tail always points away from the sun as the solar wind and energy ablate the comet and cause particles to blow off of it away from the sun. The Anti-Tail only shows up when we cross the comet’s orbital plane and is made up of the comet’s particles that are left behind. The Anti-Tail points towards the sun.
Get out and see this comet with your own eyes before it’s gone, its a once in lifetime chance, literally.
Until next time, Peace to all.
