Here’s a first diagram:
In this space view the ecliptic plane is represented by a grid of lines on it at intervals of 1 AU (astronomical unit, the Sun-Earth distance, 150 million kilometers or 93 million miles). The thicker line, with Aries symbol, is the vernal equinox direction. The viewpoint is 10° north of the plane. Earth’s size is exaggerated by 500; the Sun is shown at true size. The path of comet C/2024 S1 ATLAS is drawn for the last 3 months of 2024, with stalks from it to the plane at the start of each month. The path is omitted for one day, October 28, when it whips around the Sun; if drawn, the thickness of the line would hide the Sun.
There will be more when there has been time to find out more, such as whether this comet will become anything like as spectacular as the few great sun-grazers of history.
It’s taken me unexpectedly long to be able to get this far, because in the first news I had of the comet it had only this weird designation:
A11bP7I
That was not recognized by any of the sources in which I looked to find the orbital elements needed to make calculations. That I finally got them is due to help from Jonathan McDowell of the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics in Cambridge, Mass. But I think there is still a uncertainty about the factors governing the comet’s brightness.
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ILLUSTRATIONS in these posts are made with precision but have to be inserted in another format. You may be able to enlarge them on your monitor.
One way: right-click, and choose ”View image” or ”Open image in new tab”, then enlarge. Or choose ”Copy image”, then put it on your desktop, then open it. On an iPad or phone, use the finger gesture that enlarges (spreading with two fingers, or tapping and dragging with three fingers). Other methods have been suggested, such as dragging the image to the desktop and opening it in other ways.
Sometimes I make improvements or corrections to a post after publishing it. If you click on the title, rather than on ‘Read more’, I think you are sure to see the latest version. Or, if you click ‘Refresh’ or press function key 5, you’ll see the latest version.
I’m hoping that this comet brightens significantly on it’s way toward the Sun, and becomes a morning sky object.
Your drawings are always a revelation, but from what perspective do you choose “plummet” as a path description?
A comet in a path like this drops from a huge distance almost straight toward the Sun, like a stone dropping vertically down a well. “Plummet” is a verb used for such a motion – a hackneyed word in current journalism, indeed, for rapid downward motions of all kinds. The word derives from plumbum, “lead”.