Are you ready for a naked-eye comet? Although there are never any guarantees when it comes to comets, astronomers have high hopes that Comet C/2023 A3 (Tsuchinshan-ATLAS) will be visible in the hour before sunrise on four successive mornings this week. Further windows of naked-eye visibility in the evening sky could follow in mid-October.
C/2023 A3 is expected to peak in brightness on Friday, Sept. 27, when it reaches perihelion, its closest point to the sun on its estimated 80,000-year-long orbit. Skywatchers in the Northern Hemisphere will be able to glimpse the comet a few degrees above the east-southeast horizon about 30 minutes before sunrise between Friday, Sept. 27 and Wednesday, Oct. 2.
