Last chance to see Comet Tsuchinshan-ATLAS… for another 80,000 years

You may have a final chance to see a comet that will not visit again for another 80,000 years.

Images of Comet Tsuchinshan-ATLAS have been captured in Cambridgeshire in recent days.

Cloud has interfered with our view of it, but there have been some gaps in the weather where it could be seen and it was visible on a notably clear night on Saturday (20 October).

The comet is getting higher and fainter in the night sky but Sunday night is forecast to be clear so it may just about still be visible to the naked eye from a dark sky site, away from light pollution, although you are much more likely to find it now with binoculars, which will also enable you see its long tail.

The comet, also known as C/2023 A3 or Comet A3, comes from the Oort Cloud, a vast sphere of icy objects believed to be surrounding our solar system. The Oort Cloud is astonishingly far away - between about 5,000 and 100,000 astronomical units, where one unit is 93 million miles, the distance between Earth and the Sun..

Discovered by astronomers using China's Tsuchinshan (Purple Mountain) Observatory and South Africa's Asteroid Terrestrial-impact Last Alert System (ATLAS) telescope in January 2023, the comet is currently about 57 million miles away from Earth.

It has delighted skywatchers around the world, who have been able to see it through mid-October with the naked eye not long after sunset.

How to see it

Look west, from about 45 minutes after sunset and before 9.55pm, by which time it will dip below the horizon. For the best chance, look between about 7pm once the sky has darkened and 9pm, before it gets too low to the horizon.

It is in the constellation of Ophiuchus and will be visible roughly above where the bright planet of Venus sets at about 7pm..

Websites and apps like Stellarium, Night Sky, timeanddate.com or The Sky Live, from which our night sky image was derived, can help you locate it.

Scan slowly with your binoculars and look for an object with a tail.

If you miss it on Sunday evening, Monday night is also forecast to be clear, but remember it will be getting fainter each day, meaning binoculars or a small telescope are likely to be needed.

How to photograph it

To capture the comet on camera, ideally mount your camera or smartphone on a tripod and set a long exposure to gather more light.

If using a smartphone, depending on your model, you may need a camera app to give you more control over the length of exposure.

Try an exposure of between a couple of seconds and 10 seconds - an exposure that is too long will capture motion and not give you a sharp image.

Good luck - and don’t forget to share with us what you capture via emailing newsdesk@iliffemedia.co.uk.