If you’ve heard about Comet Tsuchinshan-ATLAS (also called C/2023 A3 and Comet A3), then you’ll want to find it in the night sky tonight and every night this week – so here’s how.

The first rule of looking for comets is this: it’s best to go see it as soon as possible, 45 minutes after sunset wherever you are. You need clear weather in the west, so if you have it, use it. If you find it, here’s how to photograph it.

ForbesComet Tracker Tonight: When and where on Monday to see it at its bestBy means of Jamie Carter

How long will the comet be visible? “It should become clearly visible around the evening of October 12, and be very prominent on October 13 and 14, when it will have a bright downward peak in addition to its normal upward-pointing tail,” said astronomer Dr. Qicheng Zhang of the Lowell Observatory in Flagstaff, Arizona, who has been monitoring the comet, wrote in an email last week. “It should remain fairly prominent over the next few days as the fading comet is offset by the darkening sky as it moves away from the Sun until about October 19 and 20.”

All you need to see the comet are your naked eyes, but any binoculars will give you an incredible view. Here’s exactly where and when you can see the comet this week and every day thereafter:

Where and when can you see the comet on Monday, October 14

Important to know: The first of two of the best nights to see the comet at its brightest and best as the comet spends its last day in the constellation Virgo. It will exhibit a new, rare “anti-tail” as Earth passes through the comet’s orbital plane

Tonight the comet will be due west, 25 degrees from the sun in Virgo, and visible near the western horizon about 45 minutes after sunset. It will set about an hour and 20 minutes later. That means it will be in the sky about 20 minutes longer than on Sunday. The waxing moon will be bright, 91% illuminated, making the night sky less than dark. Find the bright planet Venus and the bright star Arcturus; the comet will be almost exactly halfway along an imaginary line between them.

Remark: The virtual telescope will stream the comet – and its new ‘anti-tail’ – live starting at 5:00 PM UTC (1:00 PM EDT) on October 14.

Where and when can you see the comet on Tuesday, October 15

Important to know: The second of two of the best nights to see the comet at its brightest and best as the comet enters the constellation Serpens. Those with a telescope can see two deep-sky objects nearby: globular star cluster M5 and another (faint) comet called 13P/Olbers.

Tonight the comet will be due west, 30 degrees from the sun in Serpens, and visible near the western horizon about 45 minutes after sunset. It will set about an hour and 20 minutes later. That means it will be in the sky about 40 minutes longer than on Sunday. The waxing moon will be 97% illuminated, making the night sky less than dark. Find Venus and Arcturus; the comet will be just above halfway along an imaginary line between them.

Remark: The virtual telescope will stream the comet – and views of M5 and 13P/Olbers – live starting at 5:00 PM UTC (1:00 PM EDT) on October 14.

Where and when can you see the comet on Wednesday, October 16

Need to know: the almost complete “Hunter’s Moon‘will shine in the east and you stare at the west.

Tonight the comet will be due west, 33 degrees from the Sun in Serpens, and visible near the western horizon about 45 minutes after sunset, setting about two hours later. That means it will be in the sky about 15 minutes longer than on Tuesday. The comet will again be above a point about halfway between Venus and Arcturus, but higher.

Where and when can you see the comet on Thursday, October 17

Important to know: the complete “Hunter’s Moon‘will rise in the east shortly after sunset from North America (and a little earlier from Europe) – so be outside sunset/moonrise wherever you are.

Tonight the comet will be due west, 37 degrees from the Sun in Serpens, and visible near the western horizon about 45 minutes after sunset, setting about two hours and ten minutes later. That means it will be in the sky about 15 minutes longer than on Wednesday. The comet will again be above a point about halfway between Venus and Arcturus, but higher.

Remark: The virtual telescope will live stream the comet and images of the entire “Hunter’s Supermoon” on October 14 at 5:00 PM UTC (1:00 PM EDT).

Where and when can you see the comet on Friday, October 18

Need to know: now just over full, the “Hunter’s Moon‘ will rise about 50 minutes later sunset/moonrise wherever you arewhich is about the same time the comet becomes visible.

Tonight the comet will be due west, 40 degrees from the Sun in Serpens, and visible near the western horizon about 45 minutes after sunset, setting about two hours and 25 minutes later. That means it will be in the sky about fifteen minutes longer than Thursday. The comet will be about halfway between Venus and Antares and will have a triangular shape. A 96.4% illuminated waning moon will rise as you search for the comet.

Where and when can you see the comet on Saturday, October 19

Important to note: The comet has been visible to the naked eye until now, but will quickly fade away around Saturday, October 19 or Sunday, October 20 as it enters the constellation Ophiuchus. Use binoculars!

Tonight the comet will be due west, 42 degrees from the Sun at Ophiuchus, and visible near the western horizon about 45 minutes after sunset, setting about two hours and 35 minutes later. That means it will be in the sky about 10 minutes longer than on Friday. The comet will be located about halfway between Venus and Antares and will have a huge triangular shape.

Where and when can you see the comet on Sunday, October 20

Important to know: the comet has been visible to the naked eye until now, but around Saturday October 19 or Sunday October 20 it will quickly fade. Use binoculars!

Tonight the comet will be due west, 45 degrees from the Sun at Ophiuchus, and visible near the western horizon about 45 minutes after sunset, setting about two hours and 45 minutes later. That means it will be in the sky about 10 minutes longer than on Saturday. Now visible in astronomical darkness, the comet will once again be above a point about halfway between Venus and Antares, giving it a huge triangular shape.

Where and when can you see the comet on Monday, October 21

Important to know: the comet – which is currently not visible with the naked eye – will still be a beautiful sight with binoculars during astronomical darkness.

Tonight the comet will be due west, 47 degrees from the Sun at Ophiuchus, and visibly close to the western horizon about 45 minutes after sunset, setting just under three hours later. That means it will be in the sky about 10 minutes longer than on Sunday. Find the bright Venus and the bright star Arcturus; the comet will be high above them as the third point of a huge triangle.

Where and when can you see the comet in late October and November?

According to Sky and telescopeYou won’t see it with the naked eye on Halloween – October 31 – although it will likely remain visible with binoculars until early November.

After disappearing from view, it will gradually travel back to the outer solar system and the Oort Cloud. Its orbit may be only weakly gravitationally bound to the Sun, so it will likely never return to orbit the Sun.

What is a comet?

A comet is a cosmic snowball. They are made up of gas, dust and ice and usually come from the Oort Cloud, a ball of debris surrounding the solar system – the remnants of its creation – where millions of comets reside. The Sun’s gravity acts on these comets, causing them to make long journeys into the inner solar system, where they are slightly heated by the Sun’s radiation, causing them to release gas and dust into space as a tail.

Comet Tsuchinshan-ATLAS appears to be in an orbit around the Sun that takes 80,000 years, making it a long-period comet. It travels at a speed of approximately 180,000 miles per hour (290,000 km per hour).

Check my feed every day this week and next for a daily “comet tracker” with sky maps and comet viewing tips.

I wish you clear skies and big eyes.