SALT LAKE CITY (ABC4) — According to the National Aeronautics and Space Administrationa “once in a lifetime comet,” is clearly visible to Utahns as it passes Earth nearly once every 80,000 years.

comet C/2023 A3 Tsuchinshan ATLAS can be seen from Earth with the right timing and equipment. “Oct. 14-24 is the one best time for watchingusing binoculars or a small telescope,” NASA said. According to SkyLive, at the time of writing, the comet was about 72.8 million kilometers (approximately 45.24 million miles) from Earth.

Rare comet visible in night sky won’t return for 80,000 years

According to NASA, although the comet will be difficult to see during the day, there is a chance it can be seen at dusk.

Tonight, loudly SkyLive’s PlanetariumThe comet will appear nearly 40 degrees above the horizon, above Mercury and Venus in the southwestern sky. Since the sun sets just before 7:00 p.m. local time, the best time to observe it is about 45 minutes after sunset at twilight, NASA said.

The National Weather Service forecasts that cloud cover for the next two nights (Monday and Tuesday) is the best chance of seeing the comet in this week’s short-term forecast. This comet can be seen with the naked eye when space conditions are right.

NASA says the data represents Tsuchinshan-ATLAS estimates star size is between 2 and 4, making it difficult to see anything during the day. Star brightness is measured on a logarithmic scale, making a magnitude 1 star exactly 100 times brighter than a magnitude 6 star.

The lower the number, the brighter the celestial body is. For example, the brightness of Tsuchinshan-ATLAS is estimated to be +2 to +4, while the brightness of Venus is -4 (Venus is the brighter of the two).

According to NASA, the comet’s brightness may increase slightly due to something called “forward scattering.” Forward scatter is defined as a phenomenon in which scattered particles are deflected in a forward direction, which is used to determine intramolecular and interatomic directions on surfaces in physics and astronomy research.

According to NASA calculations, the comet’s brightness could reach a magnitude of -1 when scattered forward, a magnitude close to the star Sirius. This would make the comet visible to the naked eye.

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