A comet that hasn’t been seen from Earth since Neanderthals roamed the planet has now reappeared in the sky, and astronomers say it could be visible to the naked eye.
Comet C/2023 A3 (Tsuchinshan-Atlas) was discovered by astronomers early last year and is believed to orbit the Sun every 80,000 years on a highly elongated path.
Dr Gregory Brown, senior officer of public astronomy at the Royal Observatory Greenwich, said the comet was believed to originate in the Oort Cloud, which lies beyond Neptune’s orbit.
“(This is) the vast, roughly spherical region that has icy remnants of the formation of the solar system,” he said.
The best time to observe
But now the comet is in our area. After making its closest approach to the Sun late last month, it is expected to do the same to Earth around October 13, it notes
“The closer they are to us, to Earth, the brighter (comets) are, but also the closer they are to the Sun, the brighter they are. So the closest flyby isn’t necessarily going to be the brightest moment,” Brown said.
At that moment, however, almost directly between the Earth and the Sun. As a result, Brown said, the best time to observe will be a few days before and after.
The naked eye can detect a fairly bright comet
“Visible comets are quite rare, and this one has the potential to be among the brightest we’ve seen in decades. So it’s definitely worth a shot,” he said.
Brown said it is difficult to know how bright the comet will become as it approaches our planet.
“From the looks of it, it’s already visible to the naked eye in good conditions, and there’s a chance it’ll get considerably brighter. But how bright? We honestly don’t know,” he said.
