Rare comet likely visible this week – Comet A3 (Tsuchinshan-Atlas) 

A comet that visits the solar system every 80,000 years is set to pass Earth in the coming days, in what some astronomers are describing as the “comet of the century”.

First discovered in January last year, the Comet A3 (Tsuchinshan-Atlas) is finally becoming visible to the naked eye as its trajectory takes it closer to the Sun. 

It is unclear how bright the comet will become, with its closest approach to Earth taking place on 12-13 October – it will be visible in the west just after sunset.  Nasa astronaut Matthew Dominick said the comet currently looks like a “fuzzy star” when viewing it from the International Space Station.

While some claim it will be the best chance to see a comet this century, others have downplayed its appearance.

The Royal Astronomical Society will provide charts to help skygazers locate the comet, though you should find it by just scanning the sky.

You should be able to find the comet using your eyes, but use of a pair of binoculars will help – if it’s as bright as expected then hopefully it will be fairly obvious to pick up.

A live stream of the comet is set to be broadcast by the Virtual Telescope Project on 9 October, which will aim to capture the event from its observatory in Manciano in Italy.

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