Post-perihelion dust activity and a candidate icy-grain halo in long-period comet C/2023 A3 (Tsuchinshan--ATLAS)
Researchers analyzed archival ZTF images of comet C/2023 A3 to study its post-perihelion dust activity and search for a near-nucleus halo. They found that dust activity fades over time, suggesting water ice sublimation drives the process. The results indicate a cumulative mass loss of 3.0 x 10^11 kg and suggest the halo is composed of icy grains with specific size and carbon content.