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Space

Earth may be about to pass through the ion tail of a comet

The ion tail of C/2023 A3 (Tsuchinshan-ATLAS) could appear as a blue streak across the northern hemisphere sky during October, in a rare event thought to happen only every few decades

By Jonathan O’Callaghan

10 October 2024

Comet C/2023 A3 (Tsuchinshan-ATLAS) as seen from the Canary Islands on 30 September

CARLOS DE SAA/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock

Earth is about to have a close encounter with a comet, possibly passing through its ion tail – a rare occurrence. If we are lucky, it could show up as a blue streak in the northern hemisphere night sky.

at University College London and at the European Space Agency say there is a good chance that tonight, 10 October, our planet will intersect the path of the ion tail of comet C/2023 A3 (Tsuchinshan-ATLAS). “It’s a particularly unusual situation,” says…

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