Comet C/2023 A3 (Comet Tscuchisnshan-ATLAS) is putting on a grand show in the evening sky.
Over the past few days, fantastic images of Comet ATLAS have been captured around the region, including the above photo by Nik Thomason of Alto. The comet is now easily visible in the evening sky.
Since being discovered last January by the Purple Mountain Observatory in China and then a short time later by the ATLAS observatory in South Africa, the comet has survived a trip around the sun and made its closest approach to Earth.
For about the next two weeks, as we head towards November, the comet will be easily found in the western sky from about 45 minutes after sunset until the comet dips below the horizon. It will be visible longer each day and can most easily be found using Venus as a reference.
If you are having trouble picking it out, binoculars can help immensely, and once you see it, you won’t miss it. The tail is long and stretches up and left from the comet’s coma or head.
All you need to see ATLAS is a clear western horizon. Any field or most public parks will have somewhere you can get far enough away from the trees. It will be getting higher and higher through the end of the week, making finding a spot easier.
The Baldwin Roadside Park, Pitts Park, and even Tallulah Gorge State Park have spots where you can get enough distance from the trees to see the comet over them.
