Rare illusion gives a 'once in a lifetime' comet a seemingly impossible second tail after making its closest approach to Earth for 80,000 years

New photos show that after reaching its closest point to Earth more than 80,000 years ago, the “once-in-a-lifetime” comet Tsuchinshan-ATLAS has developed a physics-defying second tail. In reality, however, the extra limb is a visual illusion created by our planet's position relative to the naked-eye object.

C/2023 A3, better known as Tsuchinshan ATLAS, is an unusually bright comet that likely originated in the Oort Cloud – a reservoir of icy objects in the outer regions of the solar system. It was first discovered in early 2023 run between them Saturn And Jupiter as it headed toward the inner planets. Subsequent observations revealed that the comet was probably orbiting the sun once every 80,660 years – and indicated that it may have disintegratedwhich later turned out to be inaccurate.