Three nights with Comet C/2023 A3

The vast majority of my images are taken during the light of day, but that doesn’t mean I do not enjoy the night. So when there was a chance to photograph a comet that hasn’t passed by Earth in 80,000 years, I couldn’t pass up the opportunity.

Comet C/2023 A3 (Tsuchinshan-ATLAS) was discovered in early 2023 by astronomers using telescopes at the Tsuchinshan Observatory in China and the ATLAS survey using a reflector in South Africa. At the time, it was nearly 700 million miles from the sun and already showing a tail. It made its closest approach to the sun at the end of last month, and became the brightest comet to grace our night sky in 27 years.

I made three attempts to photograph the comet, but got usable photos just two of the nights. The first night bands of clouds blocked much of my view of it.

The next night, I headed to Mount Rainier National Park. I still had clouds to contend with, but between the prominence of the mountain and the reflection on the small lake, I was able to produce an image that was much more pleasing.

As the comet returned to deep space, it dimmed rapidly. I made one more attempt to photograph it a few nights later. I found a dark space overlooking the Columbia River. Even with the brightness of the full moon, the comet was easily visible.

Watching the comet fade from view, dipping below the horizon, I thought about how much Earth had changed since the last time the comet graced our skies. Back then, our world population may have been just 15,000, a far cry from the 8 billion it is today. Humans then had just learned to make tools for fishing and were just beginning to spread into Asia. They were not yet recording information onto rocks.

It's not just the comet; every experience is fleeting.

Kevin’s book, Five Minutes in Nature, collects images and stories about his experiences in the wilderness, curated to help you have deeper encounters of your own. Preview and order it here. Prints of his images are available through LivingWilderness.com. Learn about new work by joining his mailing list.)