Good things 'comet' to those who wait
The comet we were looking for has a catalogue number/name. Not an easily rememberable name though.
The number/name is:
Comet C/2023 A3 Tshuchinshan-Atlas
I'll just refer to it as the comet.
Anish, my father, had decided to try and capture an image of it because the comet was brighter than expected. We hosted a small-scale event at Rocky Ridge (our usual campsite) on 29th September for a few interested people who had already attended our camp. (Camping Under the Stars)
That was a good decision.
According to my dad, the comet was hardly visible during that event, even through the 10 inch telescope, so he was in two minds whether to visit the farm again the next day to photgraph it. At the event, only one participant was able to get a picture.
10PM on 30th September saw us nested comfortably at our usual cottage on the farm. My sister and I, that is. My parents stayed awake up until 12 clicking pictures and not resting comfortably in the cottage. The plan was to wake up at 4AM to image the comet.
At this point, it is necessary to get into a bit of trivia to understand exactly what a comet is.
A comet is a piece of rock in space that releases gases when it nears the Sun. They move in eliptical orbits, coming from either the Oort Cloud or Kuiper Belt depending on their orbital periods; the short period ones come from the Kuiper Belt, while the long period ones come from the former.
C/2023 A3 Tshuchinshan-Atlas is a long-period comet, taking a staggering 80,000 years to orbit the Sun, meaning it was last seen during the time of the Neanderthals, who were likely too busy argueing about who should get the fire-wood to notice a spectacular rock with a tail in the sky.
Perhaps they didn't see it, for
(a) the comet may have not intersected with the Earth's plane
(b) it might have been too dim
(c) they didn't realise it was anything but a cloud
(d) they were sleeping
Where was I?
Oh, right.
4AM was exceptionaly clear. The Winter Milky Way (a fainter arm of our residential galaxy)
was right overhead, with Orion claiming the centerpiece. We (my father and I) set up a DSLR camera, an astrophotography telescope (SEESTAR ZWO S50), and a couple of Insta cameras.
Moving on...
As I was trying to do something to the telescope that has not a word invented for it yet, my father let out an exclamation of pure shock.
He probably said, "This is crazy!" more times that night (morning) than I have ever said in my entire life.
He pointed to the DSLR camera where he had been trying to take a picture of the comet.
I'm down-playing my excitement a bit.
I was absolutely stunned.
And then I looked at where the camera was pointing and was able to see only the hills which dotted the landscape. The camera managed to capture the comet without the head actually being visible. In other words, the camera captured the tail of the comet.
I was even more absolutely stunned.
In retrospect, that was a rather unremarkable thing to be stunned about.
After which, I pointed my telescope at the comet.
After a while...
I was so stunned it was not only unbelievable (my stunned-ness) but completely ridiculous.
To my complete lack of joy, the amazing view on my tab did not get saved and the only reminder of it is the Instagram reel here
It was amazing.
I think I already said that.
Comments (32)
Such a lovely write up! Hope to join you all for the next star or commet party 😊And pls keep writing:) -Karthik
Fantastic and very unique way of writing ✍️. Keep up and keep writing more posts.-Deepak N
Fantastic and humorous blog. Keep watching the sky and keep writing. - Salil
Hey Ridhi, sucha beautifully written blog, I felt I am right there next to you experiencing this event!!! Hope to see more such blogs from you Keep writing. Anchal A
Quirky and IntelligentThe blog kept me interested enough all the way till the end. I liked the information presented in crisp yet causal manner.Good going Ridhi
Great writing! Keep it up!
Way to go Ridhi! Loved how you subtly inserted your sense of humour in between the words. Too good. Looking forward for more -Prasanth
Hi Ridhi, What a fantastic read! I loved how you captured the excitement and anticipation surrounding the Comet. The mix of personal stories and fun comet trivia made it such an engaging experience!I especially enjoyed your humorous take on the Neanderthals missing the comet. I hope you keep sharing more of your experiences; I can’t wait to read about them! Keep up the amazing work and know that I’m cheering you on! Vipin Kumar,Hyderabad
Very nicely written Ridhi & I loved the mix of pics in between.Sharath
Beautifully written! Kept us engaged
Kudos to the father and daughter duo, you people rock as usual.
Had Anish not mentioned I wouldn't have been able to guess Ridhi has written it and not a mature writer. Beautifully written Ridhi. Keep going:)
Good one !! Looking forward to more blog posts Ridhi
Hey Ridhi, This is amazing! I want to convey my amazed-ness at your wonderful style of writing :) You are amazing. I think i already said that.. Febin
Hi Ridhi, I'm sure the ' R ' in your name stands for Rockstar 🎸⭐️. I am going bananas on your blog. Thanks for sharing. Akshaya Mitra
Lovely Read !
Awesome writeup! Keep it upYou managed to grab the comet by its tail.The Neanderthal
Very entertaining and informative read!
Thank you!!!
Well well well !!!! I'm not sure which is more "crazy" .... The amazing comet which you got to see ( I may be slightly J) which I'm so bummed that I missed or your "crazy" write up about the whole comet chasing experience... You have written it so well that I almost was able to feel your experience and it's making me even more disappointed that I missed it. In short a "crazy" write up of a "crazy" comet chasing experience!! A very entertaining and knowledgeable post!! Great work Ridhi !!Vandana
Thank you so much!! (^v^)
Hey Ridhi, it’s very well written and your excitement is obvious from this blog 👌. In many ways most of us haven’t developed from those Neanderthals - now a days we are also busy arguing about who should get the fire-wood ( salaries, gossips, 24hr news feed, etc ) to notice such a spectacular rock with a tail in the sky. 😉The picture of comet is simply breathtaking 👌👌. My best regards to Anish too for having such amazing patience and passion in today’s world. 👌
Thank you Prabath uncle!
Well written ridhi.. very informative 👏
Thank you!!
A very beautiful write up of the wonderful comet experience you had. A very informative post which was fun to read as well, so proud of you!! Waiting for more such posts from you... Priyamvada (Amamma)
Thank you, Amamma :)
Beautifully written! Enjoyed reading it! Keep them posts coming!
Thank you!
Awesome article Ridhi. Have captured the moment and excitement very well for people who couldnt watch it live. Thanks
Very nicely written Ridhi!!! Keep it up.
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