Comets rarely make an appearance in our skies, given that they aren't common occurrences and that when they do pass by Earth, it takes them decades if not thousands of years to do so. The newly discovered comet C/2023 A3 only comes around every 80,000 years.

C/2023 A3

The newly found comet, also known as Tsuchinshan-ATLAS, might become visible in the night sky by fall of 2024, specifically on October 13th. Right now, the comet is between Saturn and Jupiter and is traveling at 180,610 mph.

Although the comet was first noted by the Asteroid Terrestrial-impact Last Alert System (ATLAS) telescope project in South Africa back on February 22nd, it was actually spotted by Astronomers at the Purple Mountain Observatory in China first back on January 9th, according to Space.

The estimated timeline for the comet orbiting the sun is once every 80,660 years, wherein it will be closest to the sun on September 28th, 2024, also known as perihelion. Although, it still depends on whether or not the comet remains intact as it heats up.

If that comet keeps its form, skywatchers can see it as early as June 2024 before it approaches perihelion. However, the best time to view it is still in late October when the comet moves through Serpens Caput and into the Ophiucus constellation. 

At perihelion, the comet will appear lower on the eastern horizon which might make it impossible for most to view it. Should you decide to watch the comet, it might be as bright as the stars in the sky during its flyby. 

On the stellar magnitude scale, lower numbers mean that they are brighter. The comet is expected to be of magnitude 0.7, and even reach -5 at its peak magnitude. By comparison, comet Neowise back in 2020 was a magnitude one at its peak.

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Other Upcoming Comets

C/2020 V2 (ZTF)

The C/2020 V2, which was discovered back on November 2nd, 2022 by the Zwicky Transient Facility in the USA, will have its closest approach to Earth on September 17th with a magnitude of 9.6 and can be observed in both hemispheres.

The best time to observe the comet, which might be visible using small telescopes, would be in September as opposed to its perihelion, wherein the comet will be too close to the sun in the sky and will no longer be visible. 

C/2021 T4 (Lemmon)

The comet's closest approach to Earth would be on July 20th with a magnitude of 7.8, and will be visible in the southern hemisphere. It will be bright enough that small telescopes or large binoculars would be enough to view the comet. 

It was first discovered back on October 7th of 2021 by the Mount Lemmon Observatory in the USA, as mentioned by Starwalk. It will reach perihelion on July 31st, but the best time to observe the comet would be when it is closest to Earth.

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