Welcoming a far away friend! Comet C/2023 A3 (Tsuchinshan–ATLAS)

This week of October 15, we will have a comet, (C/2023 A3 (Tsuchinshan–ATLAS), visible in the western sky just visible after sunset.

It will be visible through binoculars and a small telescope, and potentially even with the naked eye.

Using an astronomy tool like Stellarium can help you identify the comet in the sky.

Its estimated the comet originated from the far out Oort cloud and has an orbital period of 80,000 years, which means it will likely not come back for many generations and lifetimes! 

So if you have a clear sky this week at sunset, try taking a peek into the sky!

Other resources

CBC

NASA

Sky & Telescope

Image: NASA/Matthew Dominick