Comet C/2023 A3 (Tsuchinshan-ATLAS) Video

This video is created from 31 sequential one-minute raw exposures. This is a close-up of the head of the comet compared with the wide-field view here. The comet is moving with respect to the distant stars in the field. On the night this was taken, the comet had already completed its circuit of the sun and was heading away toward the Oort cloud from which it had come. That is why it is moving in the direction of its tail. Because of the rotation of the earth, the comet (and stars) are shifting toward the western horizon following the sun; this accounts for the slight background brightening as the video plays. Passing satellites produce the streaks in the video.