ALBAWABA - In an infrequent phenomenon, NASA revealed that an Oort Cloud comet, identified as C/2023 A3 Tsuchinshan-ATLAS, is expected to pass by Earth in a historical scene.
The comet will be crossing near the Earth for the first time in 80,000 years, and the magical view will last 10 days.
The Oort Cloud comet was first discovered last year, but in mid-October, it will approach the inner solar system on its highly elliptical orbit for the first time in history.
According to NASA experts, this unusual incident won't be seen again in the next 80,000 years.
The comet was spotted by China’s Tsuchinshan and an ATLAS (Asteroid Terrestrial-impact Last Alert System) telescope in South Africa. The comet was named after the observatories.
NASA astronomer Bill Cooke commented on the event: "Comets are more fragile than people may realize, thanks to the effects of passing close to the Sun on their internal water ice and volatiles such as carbon monoxide and carbon dioxide."
(Shutterstock)
How to spot and see the comet?
According to the NASA astronomer, Tsuchinshan-ATLAS will be ideally positioned to view from the Southern Hemisphere, spotters above the equator can see it easily too. The best time to spot the comet is between Oct. 9-10.
Regarding the best way to see it, Cooke said people should wait in a dark vantage point just after full nightfall. He also mentioned that the direction should be towards the southwest, "roughly 10 degrees above the horizon, identify the constellations of Sagittarius and Scorpio."
In addition, this phenomenon would last even till Oct. 14 when the comet could be seen at the midway point between the bright star Arcturus and the planet Venus.
