A newly discovered comet may appear as bright as a star in the night sky by fall 2024.
The comet, known as C/2023 A3 (Tsuchinshan-ATLAS), was first noted by the Asteroid Terrestrial-impact Last Alert System (ATLAS) telescope project in South Africa on Feb. 22, according to the Minor Planet Center(opens in new tab). Astronomers at the Purple Mountain Observatory in China also discovered the comet independently on Jan. 9, so both observatories are cited in the comet’s full name. Skywatchers around the world have since observed it in new and old images, with the earliest detection found in images taken by a wide-field camera on a telescope at Palomar Observatory in California on Dec. 12, 2022.
Currently, C/2023 A3 is between Saturn and Jupiter, according to EarthSky(opens in new tab). It’s traveling at a zippy 180,610 mph (290,664 km/h) and is likely to make its closest approach to Earth on Oct. 13, 2024.
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