COMET AND MILKY WAY: PETR HORÁLEK Autumn Comet COMETARY TEARDROP The long tail of Tsuchinshan-ATLAS appears above the beachfront of Soneva Fushi in the Maldives on the evening of October 20th. HOLD STILL Artist Deirdre Kelleghan drew this marvelous pastel of Tsuchinshan-ATLAS as it peeked above Atlantic clouds along the western coast of Ireland on October 16th. achieved a peak magnitude about as bright as Venus, it did so when it was close to the Sun and hardest to observe. When it was well-placed for observers, it was about magnitude 1 or fainter - still impressive. That's brighter than NEOWISE (C/2020 F3) in 2020, but most comet aficionados agree Tsuchinshan-ATLAS wasn't a " great " comet (and some still debate that title being bestowed on NEOWISE). Still, it put on a wonderful display and for that we are thankful. At press time, the Tsuchinshan-ATLAS show wasn't completely over, but by the time you receive this issue, the comet will be a fading telescopic object well on its way back to the outer solar system. Nevertheless, its brief display will be remembered for a long time. ¢ Associate Editor SEAN WALKER has enjoyed observing comets since witnessing Halley's Comet with his mother 39 years ago. 40 MARCH 2025 * SKY & TELESCOPE