Your ultimate guide to finding the comet every night this week – before it fades

If you’ve heard about Comet Tsuchinshan-ATLAS (also called C/2023 A3 and Comet A3), you’ll want to find it in the night sky tonight and every night this week – here’s how.

The first rule of comet hunting is that it’s best to view it as soon as possible, 45 minutes after sunset at your location. In the west you need clear weather. So if you have it, use it. If you find it, here’s how to photograph it.

ForbesComet Tracker Tonight: When and where on Monday to see it at its bestFrom Jamie Carter

How long will the comet be visible? “It should become clearly visible towards the evening of October 12th and will be very clearly visible on October 13th and 14th, when it will have a bright downward-pointing tip in addition to its normal upward-pointing tail,” said astronomer Dr . Qicheng Zhang of the Lowell Observatory in Flagstaff, Arizona, who observed the comet, said in an email last week. “It should remain quite noticeable over the next few days as the fading comet will be offset by darker skies as it moves away from the Sun until about October 19th and 20th.”

All you need to see the comet is your naked eye, but any pair of binoculars will give you an incredible view. Here’s exactly where and when you can see the comet every day this week and beyond:

Where and when to see the comet on Monday, October 14th

Fun Fact: The first of two of the best nights to see the comet at its brightest and most beautiful, as the comet spends its last day in the constellation Virgo. It will show a new, rare “antitail” as Earth passes through the comet’s orbital plane

Tonight the comet will travel due west, 25 degrees from the Sun in the constellation Virgo, and will be visible near the western horizon about 45 minutes after sunset. The setting occurs approximately one hour and 20 minutes later. That means it will be in the sky about 20 minutes longer than it was on Sunday. The waxing moon will be bright and 91% illuminated, making the night sky appear less dark. Find the bright planet Venus and the bright star Arcturus. The comet will be almost exactly in the middle of an imaginary line between them.

Note: The virtual telescope will broadcast the comet – and its new “antitail” – live from 5:00 p.m. UTC (1:00 p.m. EDT) on October 14.

Where and when to see the comet on Tuesday, October 15th

Fun Fact: The second of two of the best nights to see the comet at its brightest and best as it travels into the constellation Serpents. If you have a telescope, you can see two deep sky objects in your area – the globular cluster M5 and another (faint) comet called 13P/Olbers.

Tonight the comet will travel due west, 30 degrees from the Sun in Serpens, and will be visible near the western horizon about 45 minutes after sunset. The setting occurs approximately one hour and 20 minutes later. That means it will be in the sky about 40 minutes longer than it was on Sunday. The waxing moon will be 97% illuminated, making the night sky less dark. Find Venus and Arcturus; The comet is just over halfway along an imaginary line between them.

Note: The virtual telescope will broadcast the comet – and views from M5 and 13P/Olbers – live on October 14th starting at 5:00 p.m. UTC (1:00 p.m. EDT).

Where and when to see the comet on Wednesday, October 16th

Worth knowing: the almost complete “Hunter’s Moon“will shine in the east and you will look west.

Tonight the comet will fly due west, 33 degrees from the Sun at Serpens, and will be visible near the western horizon about 45 minutes after sunset, setting about two hours later. That means it will be in the sky about 15 minutes longer than it was on Tuesday. The comet will again be over a point about halfway between Venus and Arcturus, only higher.

Where and when to see the comet on Thursday, October 17th

Worth knowing: the complete “Hunter’s Moon” will rise in the east just after sunset in North America (and a little earlier in Europe) – so be outside Sunset/moonrise where you are.

Tonight the comet will fly due west, 37 degrees from the Sun at Serpens, and will be visible near the western horizon about 45 minutes after sunset, setting about two hours and 10 minutes later. That means it will be in the sky about 15 minutes longer than it was on Wednesday. The comet will again be over a point about halfway between Venus and Arcturus, only higher.

Note: The virtual telescope will broadcast the comet and the view of the entire Hunter’s Supermoon live on October 14 starting at 5:00 p.m. UTC (1:00 p.m. EDT).

Where and when to see the comet on Friday, October 18th

Fun fact: Now, shortly after full time, the “Hunter’s Moon” will rise about 50 minutes later Sunset/moonrise where you arewhich happens around the same time the comet becomes visible.

Tonight the comet will fly due west, 40 degrees from the Sun at Serpens, and will be visible near the western horizon about 45 minutes after sunset, setting about two hours and 25 minutes later. That means it will be in the sky about 15 minutes longer than it was on Thursday. The comet will be over a point about halfway between Venus and Antares, forming a triangular shape. As you search for the comet, a 96.4% illuminated waning moon rises.

Where and when to see the comet on Saturday, October 19th

Good to know: The comet has previously been visible to the naked eye, but around Saturday October 19th or Sunday October 20th it will quickly fade as it enters the Ophiuchus constellation. Use binoculars!

Tonight, the comet will fly due west, 42 degrees from the Sun in Ophiuchus, and will be visible near the western horizon about 45 minutes after sunset, setting about two hours and 35 minutes later. That means it will be in the sky about 10 minutes longer than it was on Friday. The comet will be over a point about halfway between Venus and Antares, forming a giant triangular shape.

Where and when to see the comet on Sunday October 20th

Good to know: The comet has so far been visible to the naked eye, but around Saturday, October 19th or Sunday, October 20th, it will quickly fade. Use binoculars!

Tonight, the comet will fly due west, 45 degrees from the Sun in Ophiuchus, and will be visible near the western horizon about 45 minutes after sunset, setting about two hours and 45 minutes later. That means it will be in the sky about 10 minutes longer than it was on Saturday. Now visible in astronomical darkness, the comet will once again stand over a point about halfway between Venus and Antares, forming a giant triangular shape.

Where and when to see the comet on Monday, October 21st

Good to know: The comet – now no longer visible to the naked eye – will still be a pretty sight with binoculars in astronomical darkness.

Tonight the comet will fly due west, 47 degrees from the Sun in Ophiuchus, and will be visible near the western horizon about 45 minutes after sunset, setting nearly three hours later. That means it will be in the sky about 10 minutes longer than it was on Sunday. Find bright Venus and bright star Arcturus; The comet will be high above them as the third point of a giant triangle.

Where and when you can see the comet in late October and November

Accordingly Sky & TelescopeYou won’t see it with the naked eye on Halloween, October 31, although it will likely remain visible through binoculars until early November.

After it disappears from view, it gradually migrates back to the outer solar system and the Oort Cloud. Its orbit may be only weakly gravitationally bound to the Sun, so it will probably never orbit the Sun again.

What is a comet?

A comet is a cosmic snowball. They are made of gas, dust and ice and typically come from the Oort cloud, a ball of debris around the solar system – the remnants of its formation – which is home to millions of comets. The Sun’s gravitational pull acts on these comets and takes them on long journeys into the inner solar system, where they are slightly heated by solar radiation, causing them to release gas and dust into space as a tail.

Comet Tsuchinshan-ATLAS appears to be in an orbit around the Sun that lasts 80,000 years, making it a long-period comet. It travels at a speed of about 180,000 miles per hour (290,000 km per hour).

Check my feed every day this week and next for a daily “comet tracker” with sky maps and tips for spotting the comet.

I wish you clear skies and big eyes.