Comet makes rare appearance in cloudy Singapore skies

Stargazers and astronomy enthusiasts here were treated to the rare sight of a comet using binoculars and telescopes, and captured the spectacle with professional cameras, though cloudy skies shielded the celestial body from the naked eye on Oct 13.

Comet C/2023 A3 (Tsuchinshan-Atlas) will be most visible in the western part of Singapore until Oct 22 from areas with minimal light pollution.

It was predicted to be at its brightest on Oct 11, according to the Science Centre Observatory (SCOB).

The comet will most likely be visible between Oct 14 and 20, said the SCOB, adding that there is a strong possibility that observers will be able to see the comet with their own eyes without needing binoculars or telescopes.

A spokesperson for SCOB told The Straits Times that the comet is rare as it is a great comet, and therefore visible to the naked eye.

For this kind of visibility, the comet needs to be close enough to the sun to reflect the sunlight, but not too close, as it would disintegrate from the heat and gravity of the star.

The comet also needs to be close enough to Earth to be seen.

The SCOB spokesperson said that Comet C/2023 A3 (Tsuchinshan-Atlas) will not be seen again, adding that great comets come at “unpredictable intervals”.

The last great comet was comet Neowise in 2020.

Earlier in October, Dr Koh Wee Ming, assistant honorary secretary of The Astronomical Society of Singapore, said the best viewing window will likely be between Oct 13 and 22, as it will be visible in the west after sunset.

Ms Gerardyn Brittos, founder of Stargazing Singapore, told The Straits Times that she was surprised to see the comet show up on camera despite the cloudy evening skies on Oct 13.

She set up her camera and tripod at Lower Peirce Reservoir at 7pm, and managed to snap a picture at 7.41pm.

“We were expecting that it wouldn’t be so easy to find it, as it was quite cloudy. But as soon as the skies became dark, we were surprised that it showed up on our camera,” said Ms Brittos, who runs the Facebook page for astronomy enthusiasts.

She added that although the comet was bright enough, casual observers were not able to see it without instruments due to the weather.

Recreational photographer James Gan travelled from his home in the east and met two friends at Raffles Marina jetty in Tuas.

Their efforts paid off after waiting for nearly two hours, when they managed to snap pictures of the streak over Johor’s skyline at around 7.40pm on Oct 13.

Streams of smoke could be seen coming up from the buildings below, which looked to be “welcoming the comet”, said Mr Gan.

“(The comet) was really dim and small, and the horizon was cloudy with a thick layer of clouds,” he noted.

“We did have issues seeing it until two young boys shared with us what they thought was the comet. A closer, cropped shot confirmed it was the comet, with a faint blazing tail.”

Mr Gan added that he will be looking for more vantage points such as Mount Faber and Sentosa beaches, or going to a friend’s place at The Pinnacle@Duxton or Marina One Residences in the coming days.

Astrophotography enthusiast Loo Jia Siang managed to snap a photo at around 7.30pm on Oct 13, from a multi-storey carpark next to his Housing Board (HDB) flat in Boon Lay.

The 38-year-old engineer waited for about 30 minutes before he spotted the comet through his camera’s live exposure feature. He added that although it was not a “perfect cloudless sky”, he still found the experience satisfying.

Fellow enthusiast Hong Wai Tan waited for more than an hour to record a video of the comet with his Seestar S50 telescope.

He set up the telescope in Dover just before sunset at around 6pm and got the winning shot at around 7.40pm.

“The location where I shot from had some thin layers of clouds or haze covering it, so it was hard to see it with the naked eye,” said the engineer in his 40s.

Anyone looking to catch a glimpse of the comet in the coming days still has a good chance to do so if the weather permits, said Ms Brittos.

However, she added that the comet will be moving further away from the Earth, so it will look dimmer.

Though the SCOB said the best chance of seeing the comet will be on Oct 14 in the western sky just after sunset, it has been spotted in Singapore’s skies over the past few weeks during the hour before sunrise.

Polytechnic student and nature photography enthusiast Benjamin Ong took photos of the comet above the Singapore skyline at around 6am on Oct 1, from the top floor of his HDB block in Commonwealth.

“I woke up at 5.30am and started observing the sky at 5.40am. I only managed to see the comet after 6.05am when it appeared above thick clouds,” he said.

“I couldn’t see the comet with my naked eye, but could see it faintly through a pair of binoculars with 8x magnification. I saw the comet in my camera first before using the binoculars to find it.”

Even though rain and cloudy skies are expected in the coming days, the 19-year-old added that he will continue trying to snap more photos of the comet.