This Comet Won't Be Back for 80,000 Years

Discovered in 2023, C/2023 A3 (Tsuchinshan–ATLAS) is a comet that comes from the edge of our solar system in what astronomers call the Oort cloud. In Tucson, Arizona, the comet is visible to the naked eye as a fuzzy ball with a tail, about 45 minutes after sunset to the West, making a once-in-80,000-year appearance.

 

Space4 Center director and LPL professor Vishnu Reddy captured a photo and animation of the comet 

from University of Arizona's Biosphere 2 facility on Oct. 13.