Tsuchinshan-ATLAS

proper noun

C/2023 A3 (Tsuchinshan–ATLAS), a comet visible to the naked eye in 2024.

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Meanings

proper noun
  1. astronomyC/2023 A3 (Tsuchinshan–ATLAS), a comet visible to the naked eye in 2024.

    With an orbit of 80,000 years, Comet A3 Tsuchinshan-ATLAS was last visible from our planet during the era of the Neanderthals, according to NASA.

    2024 October 12, “Comet last seen by Neanderthals to brighten night skies”, in Deutsche Welle, archived from the original on 03 Nov 2024, Science; Europe
    1 more example

    Tsuchinshan-ATLAS, like all comets, is a frozen chunk of leftover material from the birth of the solar system. The comet begins to melt as it nears the sun, causing the ball of ice to sprout a diffuse tail.

    2024 October 8, Katrina Miller, “How to See the ‘Once-in-a-Lifetime’ Comet Flaring in Our Night Skies”, in The New York Times, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 08 Oct 2024, Science

Origin

February 2023, from Tsuchinshan + ATLAS, names of two observatories that observed the comet.

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

Tsuchinshan-ATLAS. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Tsuchinshan-ATLAS

MLA

“Tsuchinshan-ATLAS.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Tsuchinshan-ATLAS. Accessed November 4, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “Tsuchinshan-ATLAS,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Tsuchinshan-ATLAS.

Source: Tsuchinshan-ATLAS on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.