Where is comet Tsuchinshan-ATLAS this evening, Wednesday, October 16? The icy visitor from the outer solar system, which orbits the Sun once every 80,000 years, is now visible in the western sky after sunset – and it is now reasonably high and easy to see when the sky is clear.

Get out just after sunset and you’ll also see the almost full “Hunter’s Moon” shining brightly behind you to the east and you’ll be looking west.

ForbesYour ultimate guide to seeing the comet every night this week – before it fadesFrom Jamie Carter

Wednesday, October 16, is the ideal time to search for the comet (also called C/2023 A3 and Comet A3) from the Northern Hemisphere. It has achieved its goal Perihelion – the closest approach to the sun – on September 27 and Saturday it was closest to Earth, flying at a distance of about 71 million kilometers.

It is now 48 million miles away, but crucially it is higher in the sky, making it easier to see over mountains and buildings. If you find it, here’s how to photograph it.

Here’s exactly when and where to look on Wednesday, October 16, to see the comet with your naked eyes.

Note: Times and observing instructions apply to mid-latitude observers in the Northern Hemisphere. Check the exact time Sunset where you are and the comet’s demise Stellarium Web for exact times for your exact location.

How to find Comet Tsuchinshan-ATLAS: Wednesday, October 16th

Position: West, 33 degrees from the sun in Serpens

Time: 45 minutes later Sunset where you are

Strength: +1.1

Distance of the comet from the Sun: 57.8 million miles (93.1 million kilometers)

Distance of the comet from Earth: 48 million miles (77.2 million kilometers)

Wednesday, October 16th is a good time to get a good look at the comet as it gains altitude in the sky after sunset. That’s despite the waxing moon in the southeastern sky now being 99.7% illuminated and on track to become a full “Hunter’s Moon” on Thursday, October 17.

Tonight the comet will be visible over the western horizon about 45 minutes after sunset and will set about two hours later. That means it will be in the sky about 15 minutes longer than it was on Tuesday.

If you have a completely clear horizon, you’ll find the bright planet Venus and the bright twinkling (and reddish) star Arcturus, the brightest star in the constellation Boutes; The comet will be just above a point about halfway between them.

All you need to see the comet is your naked eye, but binoculars will give you a great view.

Why is comet Tsuchinshan-ATLAS so bright?

There are dozens of comets in the inner solar system at any one time. However, only a few of them become visible to the naked eye – or even become a binocular object. What is special about comet Tsuchinshan-ATLAS?

“The comet is currently traveling between the Sun and the Earth, so light that is diffracted (bent around) by dust grains in the tail and is normally concentrated in the opposite direction from the comet to the Sun is now concentrated toward Earth,” the astronomer said Dr. Qicheng Zhang of the Lowell Observatory in Flagstaff, Arizona, who observed the comet, said in an email. “This is the same effect that makes thin clouds appear really bright when backlit by the sun; Only in this case it is ice crystals or water drops that cause the light to bend.”

As a bonus, a comet’s tail usually points away from the sun, meaning it points directly toward Earth, which brings us closer to the tail and makes it appear larger in the sky, Zhang explained.

“A third factor is that the comet passed its closest point to the sun last month, which is about the point where it released the most dust,” Zhang said. “But dust doesn’t just disappear after it’s released from a comet – it also causes the tail to become bright.”

Because it travels between Earth and the Sun after the comet has released most of its dust, rather than before, the tail will be particularly bright.

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.