Comet that seems each 80,000 years seen for every week – here is the place

A super rare comet made an appearance in the skies this week for the first time in 80,000 years.

The astrological phenomenon flew over New Zealand and UK skies and left a bright trail. Due to the light it emitted, the comet will still be visible for some time.

Stargazers were not expecting to see the sight, but were treated with the rare comet on Friday night. The light is slowly dimishing, but will be visible for the next few nights.

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An astronomer, Josh Aoraki, told Stuff where’s best to view the comet. It can be seen from the Western Horizon, he reported.

“If you go out to the West Coast, for example, here in Auckland, and you have nothing in your way blocking your view of the west, that’s basically really all you need,” Aoraki admitted. While New Kiwis might have the strongest view, it is still visible to parts of the UK.

“After sunset, there’s a really bright-looking star directly west and you can’t miss it as it’s really, really bright. And that’s the planet Venus,” Aoraki added. “If you look to Venus, and then you look below, and then to the right, you might see that little fuzzy patch table coming off it, and that’s the comet.”

Comet Tsuchinshan-ATLAS – which has been spotted in the skies over the UK in the past week – is fading fast, experts say, but the best time to see it may still be to come. However, this might be the last chance for UK astronomers.

It’s setting later in the evening every night, which means it will be higher in the sky at sunset and at full dark. While it’s getting fainter as it moves away from the sun, the darker skies are making it easier to see it.

This weekend could be the best comet viewing for Northern Hemisphere observers since 1997. The Royal Astronomical Society has dubbed C/2023 A3 Tsuchinshan-ATLAS the ‘comet of the century’ because of how bright and visible it can be.

Comets are balls of frozen gases, dust, and rock that orbit the sun. However, it disintegrates when close to the sun. The ice melts and creates a tail and a glowing head that can be larger than most planets.

Scientists suggest people look at the skies tonight after sunset, even without specialist equipment it might be visible.

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