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A recently discovered comet known as C/2023 A3 Tsuchinshan-ATLAS will make its closest approach to Earth on Saturday. Skygazers won’t want to miss the event, as it may be the last time the comet will be seen in the night sky for another 80,000 years.

The comet successfully reached perihelion, the point closest to the Sun in its orbit around the parent star, on September 27, and was visible to people in the Southern Hemisphere throughout September and early October. Now the icy body is on its way out of the inner solar system and will be visible to those in the Northern Hemisphere from mid-October to early November, according to NASA.

On Saturday, the comet will reach a distance of about 44 million miles (almost 71 million kilometers) from Earth. According to NASA, the comet is making its first documented flyby of our planet. With its orbit of 80,000 years, the celestial body was last seen from Earth during the time of the Neanderthals.

Those wanting to catch a glimpse of this unique event will want to look toward the western part of the night sky shortly after sunset, according to EarthSky.

The comet will look like a bright fireball in the dark sky, with a long, extended tail. Bill Cooke, chief of NASA’s Meteoroid Environment Office at the Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, recommends binoculars to get a better look at the comet.

“It won’t fly through the sky like a meteor. It will appear as if it is stuck there, and it will slowly change position from night to night,” Cooke said. “If you can see (the comet) with your naked eye, (using) the binoculars will blow your mind.”

Tsuchinshan ATLAS was discovered separately in 2023 by observers via China’s Tsuchinshan Observatory and an Asteroid Terrestrial-impact Last Alert System, or ATLAS, telescope in South Africa, hence the comet’s namesake, NASA said.

The celestial object comes from the Oort cloud, “a largely spherical collection of comets that are barely thousands of times (further) from the sun than we are,” says astronomer Dr. Teddy Kareta, postdoctoral fellow at Lowell Observatory. in Flagstaff, Arizona, in an email.

Scientists were unsure whether the comet – made up of ice, frozen gases and rocks – would survive its journey around our solar system’s parent star. But the comet appears to be largely intact and “came out with flying colors,” Cooke said.

Due to its proximity to the Sun, Tsuchinshan-ATLAS will experience an effect known as forward scatter, which will cause the comet to appear at its brightest around Wednesday due to sunlight reflected from its gas and debris. But because of the sun’s harsh glare blocking the comet, the celestial body is unlikely to be visible in the sky until a few days later, Cooke added.

If all goes well, Tsuchinshan-ATLAS will return to this point in its orbit in about 80,000 years, but comets can be unpredictable – it’s possible that another planet’s gravity could change the comet’s course, Cooke added .

For those who can’t see Tsuchinshan-ATLAS in the night sky, the Virtual Telescope Project in Italy will host a live feed of the comet at its brightest point on Wednesday, and at its closest distance on Saturday to earth.

“For many people, especially children, seeing a bright comet in the night sky is a beautiful and life-changing experience,” Kareta said.

“Even though every few years a comet is barely bright enough to see with the naked eye, comets that have the potential to be easily visible to many are rare. If you can try to see it, you should – and you should bring everyone you can so they can experience it too.”

The next full moon, which peaks on October 17, could hamper observations of comets because its illumination obscures the visibility of other objects in the night sky. Called the Hunter’s Moon, it will be a supermoon and the closest of the year at a distance of 222,095 miles (357,428 kilometers) from Earth.

But there are other chances to see celestial bodies, as a second comet, known as Comet C/2024 S1 (ATLAS), could appear in the night sky in late October, according to EarthSky.

In the meantime, skygazers can anticipate a busy meteor shower season that will conclude 2024. Here are peak dates for upcoming sky activity, according to the American Meteor Society:

Orionides: October 20-21

Southern Taurids: November 4-5

Northern Taurids: November 11-12

Leonids: November 17-18

Geminids: December 13-14

Ursids: December 21-22