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Comet A3 is still visible; how to see it in new jersey

Vaseline October 18, 2024

You’re probably seeing your social media feed fill up with photos of the night sky again.

A week after the Northern Lights were visible in the Mid-Atlantic, a rare comet appeared.

But don’t worry if you missed it on Wednesday; you still have a few days to catch him.

Comet C/2023 A3 – simply called Comet A3 – was first discovered last year and was first visible in the night sky earlier this month, with peak observations from October 16 to October 20.

How do I see Comet A3 in New Jersey?

Comet C/2023 A3 will be visible in the sky for more than an hour every night for the next few days shortly after sunset.

For those in New Jersey, the sun sets around 6:25 PM, so the best viewing begins around 7:10 PM. The comet will be visible for about 90 minutes before it sinks too low.

About 45 minutes after sunset, go outside and look in the direction the sun set, in the west-southwest sky.

At first it will be lower on the horizon, but each night it will climb higher, giving you a better chance of spotting it.

One way to know where to look is to hold your fist, thumb up, at arm’s length, with the bottom of your hand aligned with the horizon.

Your fist will cover about 10 degrees of the sky. On October 17, Comet A3 will be about 6 degrees – about half a fist – above the horizon.

On October 20, the comet will be about 12 degrees above the horizon, or just above your fist.

What does comet A3 look like?

As you look for comet C/2023 A3, you will see a faint, glowing ball moving slowly across the sky. From our position it floats from right to left in the west-southwest sky. If you’re in a very dark area, you might also catch a glimpse of its tail trailing behind the comet.

The tail is faint but visible under ideal conditions, and when bright enough it can extend across about 5 degrees of the sky – which is about as much sky as the full moon covers from our view.

Comet A3 will cover a small portion of the sky, but can still be seen for an hour or more each night as it moves towards the horizon. Although it is visible, it gradually makes its way horizontally across the sky.

The comet doesn’t look like it’s moving in real time as you look at it, meaning it doesn’t appear to fly across the sky like a shooting star. Instead, it will appear largely stationary, like the way we see stars or planets, and its position will slowly change over time. If you look at the comet early and look back again after about 10 to 15 minutes, you will notice that it has moved slightly to the left as it floats across the sky.