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    • ‘Old’ comet visible above Earth tonight: here’s what you need to know
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    ‘Old’ comet visible above Earth tonight: here’s what you need to know

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    Topline

    An “old” comet that won’t be seen for tens of thousands of years will become visible on Thursday evening after traveling from outside the solar system to its closest point to Earth earlier this month, NASA said.

    Key facts

    Comet C/2023 A3, also known as the Tsuchinshan-ATLAS comet, was first seen from Earth on October 14, although it was first spotted by the International Space Station on September 28, when the comet was about 70 million kilometers had been removed. NASA said.

    The comet comes from the Oort Cloud, which NASA says is a “giant spherical shell” surrounding our solar system and made up of icy pieces of space debris “the size of mountains and sometimes larger.”

    NASA estimates that Tsuchinshan-ATLAS will not return to this point in its orbit for at least 80,000 years, but it is possible that the gravity of another planet or another piece of space debris could influence the comet’s orbit.

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    Where can I see the comet?

    Bill Cooke, a NASA astronomer, recommends finding a high, dark vantage point and looking southwest. The tail of Tsuchinshan-ATLAS will be illuminated at about 10 degrees above the western horizon and will likely be between the constellations of Sagittarius and Scorpio, according to Cooke. The Italy-based Virtual Telescope Project will also host a livestream of the comet on October 21.

    When can I see the comet?

    According to Cooke, the best time to see the comet is just after sunset and before sunrise, and it will likely remain visible in the night sky with binoculars and a small telescope until October 24. Until then, the comet will gradually rise and lose brightness before disappearing sometime in early November, NASA said.

    Important background

    A series of celestial events have been visible from the US in recent weeks. A massive geomagnetic storm – resulting from the release of energy and particles from the sun’s surface – pushed the Northern Lights all the way south to Texas last week. The October full moon will also be the largest supermoon this year, appearing about 14% larger than the average full moon after it reaches its closest point to Earth shortly after 11 p.m. EDT on Thursday. Other comets and meteor showers can also be seen throughout the winter, including the ATLAS comet – expected to appear in late October – and the Southern Taurids meteor shower, among others.

    Read more

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