The much anticipated Comet Tsuchinshan–ATLAS made its closest pass to Earth on Oct 12th, and the skies over western South Dakota remained clear for the spectacle. With the comet rising higher each evening in western sky, the only challenge to observing it was the bright waxing gibbous moon to the east which kept the skies lit up after the evening twilight faded.
On the first evening after its closest approach, I drove to Devils Tower, Wyoming to hopefully get my first images of the comet with the tower in the foreground. Wildfire smoke had plagued the area in the previous weeks so I was grateful for a cool front that passed through the area earlier in the day which cleared the smoke to the south. The evening sky was crystal clear and even though the twilight was still rather bright, I was able to capture the comet head as it approached the top of Devils Tower. By the time the comet was about to set, a long dust tail was visible and stretched the height of “Mato Tipila” (the Lakota name for Bear Lodge / Devils Tower).
On the evening of Oct 14th, I traveled to the South Dakota Badlands in hopes of capturing Comet Tsuchinshan–ATLAS setting beyond the 75 million year old layered rock which forms the striated multicolored landscape. Once again, the skies were clear and relatively smoke-free. Satellites raced across the skies illuminated by the recently set sun. I was able to find a nice viewpoint at the Yellow Mounds Overlook and heard coyotes yipping in the distance while the timelapse cameras took their pictures.
For the following nights, I photographed Comet Tsuchinshan–ATLAS from my home in western Rapid City. I was able to capture the comet as it approached and set over the Black Hills.
As I write this, I am still able to obtain images of the comet with my Red Cat 61 / ZWO ASI6200 MC Pro telescope and camera setup riding on a Paramount MYT mount. Unfortunately, I am only able to get about 15-20 minutes of image integration time now before the comet moves behind some trees to my west.
I am grateful for the opportunity to witness this once in a lifetime comet as it will not visit again for more than 200,000 years. I am thankful for the clear skies and amazing landscapes that stood as foregrounds for this celestial visitor.