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    • Photos show comet C/2023 A3 Tsuchinshan-ATLAS hovering over the US
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    Photos show comet C/2023 A3 Tsuchinshan-ATLAS hovering over the US

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    Comet C/2023 A3 Tsuchinshan-ATLAS, a rare, unique comet visible once every 80,000 years, was spotted in several states across the United States this weekend.

    This weekend was “one of the better times to spot it” because “it’s coming out of the glare of the sun,” Shannon Schmoll, director of the Abrams Planetarium at Michigan State University, told the Detroit Free Press, part of USA TODAY Network.

    “The comet was mainly visible to people in the Southern Hemisphere and the tropics until about October 8,” NASA said in a statement. “Viewers in the Northern Hemisphere should have more chances to catch a glimpse in the following days.”

    NASA said the comet is expected to pass an estimated 45 million miles (70 million kilometers) from Earth on Saturday, Oct. 12. The comet could reportedly be seen with the naked eye, but as Schmoll told the newspaper, viewers would need binoculars as the month progresses.

    “It should also be visible for the rest of October, but as it continues to move it will get higher in the night sky, but further away from the sun, so less bright,” the expert said.

    The comet passed closest to the sun at the end of September.

    The now appearing comet took its name from those who first discovered it last year: the Tsuchinshan or “Purple Mountain” Observatory in China and the ATLAS (Asteroid Terrestrial-impact Last Alert System) telescope in South Africa , the Detroit Free Press reported.

    Some sightings have been reported in California, Virginia and New Hampshire.

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    Taylor Ardrey is a news reporter for USA TODAY. You can reach her at [email protected].

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