Comet C/2023 A3 Still Visible to Naked Eye

Just after dusk this comet is visible low on the western horizon north of Venus. I was able to observe it with 7x35 binoculars. My wife (no pics!) has somewhat better eyesight than me was able to see it with her unaided eye.

From Wikipedia:

quote:

---

The comet passed perihelion at a distance of 0.39 AU (58 million km; 36 million mi) on 27 September 2024,[1][3] when it became visible to the naked eye.[5][6] Tsuchinshan-Atlas peaked its brightest magnitude shortly after passing the Sun at 9 October, with a magnitude of -4.9 per reported observations at the Comet Observation Database (COBS).[5]

---

I made this image yesterday evening from my backyard with my iPhone (didn't have the energy to set up any of my astrophotography gear):



The "anti-tail" on this comet was discussed below. Here is today's Astronomy Picture of the Day showing the comet, its tail, and the anti-tail:



Here is the caption from APOD:

Comet Tsuchinshan-ATLAS over California
Credit & Copyright: Brian Fulda
Explanation: The tails of Comet Tsuchinshan-ATLAS were a sight to behold. Pictured, C/2023 A3 (Tsuchinshan–ATLAS) was captured near peak impressiveness last week over the Eastern Sierra Mountains in California, USA. The comet not only showed a bright tail, but a distinct anti-tail pointing in nearly the opposite direction. The globular star cluster M5 can be seen on the right, far in the distance. As it approached, it was unclear if this crumbling iceberg would disintegrate completely as it warmed in the bright sunlight. In reality, the comet survived to become brighter than any star in the night (magnitude -4.9), but unfortunately was then so nearly in front of the Sun that it was hard for many casual observers to locate. Whether Comet Tsuchinshan-Atlas becomes known as the Great Comet of 2024 now depends, in part, on how impressive incoming comet C/2024 S1 (ATLAS) becomes over the next two weeks.