An extremely rare comet A3 is going to light up the Earth skies after 80,000 years making it “once in a lifetime” sight to behold!
Comet Tsuchinshan-ATLAS, which is also called Comet A3 or Comet C/2023, is a faint, dusty ball of ice, with star-like smudge trailed by a hazy tail, and takes about 80,000 years to complete its orbit around the Sun.
As per Business Insider, the last time this rare comet was witnessed was when Neanderthals, an extinct group of archaic humans who lived in Eurasia, lived on the Earth.
When to see Comet A3?
The Comet A3 is making appearance on two separate time periods with first period began from Friday, September 27 and will continue to be visible until shortly before the sun rises on Wednesday, October 2, 2024.
In the second window, the rare comet will be visible between October 12 and October 20, as with each passing night it will continue moving higher in the sky until its next virility after another 80,000 years.
Comet A3 location:
Comet C/2023 will appear in the Northern Hemisphere and is expected to be seen with naked eyes during the second time period from October 12 to 20, 2024.
Comet A3 location today, Tuesday, October 1, 2024:
As per Forbes, the comet will be visible an hour before sunrise which is around 7 am in the US. It will be positioned east-southeast, 21 degrees from the sun in Leo.
Best place to observe Comet Tsuchinshan-ATLAS:
This rare event is best to be observed far away from the worst city lights, in a very dark sky.
According to Lowell Observatory’s planetary scientist, Teddy Kareta, “Even if you live in an area with lots and lots of street lights, lots of smog, lots of smoke, lots of whatever, you still ought to go for it.”
Comet A3 tracker:
Although it is difficult to spot the comet all by yourself, once you have reached the ideal dark place to witness this rare event, skywatching apps or comet trackers like Big Dipper and The Sky Live will help you track it.
