Bright Space Rock To Light Up Sky, Comet To Visit After 80,000 Years

Comet C/2023 A3, also known as Tsuchinshan-ATLAS, is returning to Earth. Our ancestors last witnessed this uncommon sight about 80,000 years ago. This comet, which resembles a fuzzy star with a tail, can be seen in the early morning hours of the sky from Friday through Monday. Even a beautiful video of it was taken by NASA astronaut Matthew Dominick, who is presently stationed on the International Space Station.

"So far, Comet Tsuchinshan-ATLAS looks like a fuzzy star to the naked eye looking out the cupola windows. But with a 200mm f/2 lens at 1/8s exposure, you can really start to see it. This comet is going to make for some really cool images as it gets closer to the sun. For now a timelapse preview," Dominick captioned the video in his X post.

So far Comet Tsuchinshan-ATLAS looks like a fuzzy star to the naked eye looking out the cupola windows. But with a 200mm, f2 lens at 1/8s exposure you can really start to see it. This comet is going to make for some really cool images as it gets closer to the sun. For now a… pic.twitter.com/JstaSLJ4Ui — Matthew Dominick (@dominickmatthew) September 19, 2024

Stuart Atkinson, a space enthusiast and amateur astronomer based in Cumbria, said the comet will look like 'a fuzzy star with a misty tail'.

Cumbria-based space enthusiast and amateur astronomer Stuart Atkinson said in a social media post that "the comet will look like a fuzzy star with a misty tail, beneath the Moon, very low in the east. You might need binoculars to see it."

You can use the Moon to find Comet A3 Tsuchinshan-ATLAS in the sky before sunrise later this week. The comet will look like a fuzzy star with a misty tail, beneath the Moon, v low in the east. You might need binoculars to see it. (Charts drawn for UK but visible elsewhere too) pic.twitter.com/hUISrEqEoT — Stuart Atkinson (@mars_stu) September 23, 2024

According to BBC Sky at Night Magazine, "Initial data seems to suggest that Comet C/2023 A3 completes an orbit every 80,000 years. By the end of September 2024, it will be a morning object, perhaps shining as brightly as mag. +0.6 but rising just before the sun. Comet C/2023 A3 will reach perihelion-the closest point to the Sun in its orbit-on 28 September 2024. Our best views of A3 will come when it moves up into the evening sky around 10 October. By then it will have faded slightly but is predicted to still be as bright as mag. +0.8, low in the west after sunset."