The “comet of the century” has been spotted – and captured on camera – by lucky north-east residents.
Prior to last month, the Comet A3 had not been visible to the naked eye since Neanderthals were walking the planet – 80,000 years ago.
As the sky was clear across the northern hemisphere on Monday night, a number of people were able to see the comet, also known as Tsuchinshan-ATLAS, for themselves.
Among those who captured Comet A3 on camera was Mark Fordyce, from Aberdeen, who took advantage of the “beautiful weather” in the city on Monday night.
“I ventured out to the Balnagask Golf Course 45 minutes after sunset armed with my DSLR camera and tripod,” the 41-year-old said.
“I knew it was in the west so I picked my place and got set up.
“As the twilight was fading, I was surprised that the comet was easy to see by naked eye over the city, despite the light pollution.
“My shots were single exposures of about 10 seconds”.
Comet A3 spotted in Aberdeen and Shire
Further south at Gavrock Hill keen astrophotgrapher, Chris Pell, also managed to capture some impressive shots of the comet.
He had been keeping a close eye on the weather forecast in the hopes of finding a clear night.
“Last night looked promising, so around sunset I headed up to the lookout point on the Garvock Hill, near Laurencekirk, as I figured it would have a good view out over the Howe of the Mearns towards the setting sun in the west,” the 45-year-old said.
“I set up my tripod and camera with a wide-angle lens and started to take some shots, experimenting with the length of exposure and the sensitivity of the camera to the fading light.
“The comet began to become visible after the sun had dipped below the horizon, it’s not visible before then due to being so faint in comparison to the sun’s rays.
“It then follows the curve of the sun down over the horizon, so there was only a window of a couple of hours to find it and get the pictures in.
“I found that around 10 seconds at ISO 400 got the best shots, but the light was changing all the time, making constant adjustments to the settings a must.”
‘An amazing experience’
Despite it being “pretty chilly” on the hilltop, Chris was not the only person who ventured out to watch the sky.
As the incredibly bright phenomenon only occurs every 80,000 years, the north-east residents knew it could be their only opportunity to capture it.
“There were a few gasps when the light had dimmed enough for the comet to be seen with the naked eye, as a pale smudge arcing up into the dark sky as the stars came out,” he said.
“The comet isn’t going to be around long, as it will get fainter and fainter as it moves away from the sun, back out on its long orbit out into the farthest reaches of the solar system again.
“It last passed the Earth 80,000 years ago when the Stone Age tribes must have gazed at it in wonder. Who knows what it will find when it comes back 80,000 years from now?”
The comet should still be visible in the northern hemisphere until the end of the month with people advised to head outside “immediately after sunset” to catch a glimpse.
For the best chance of seeing Comet A3, experts advise going to higher ground and looking west towards the horizon with binoculars.
“It was an amazing experience and hopefully more people can get to see it over the next few days if conditions allow,” Chris added.
Conversation