Comet Tsuchinshan-ATLAS will be more visible in Utah Monday, experts say

SALT LAKE CITY -- Utahns will get another chance to see a "once-in-80,000-years" comet Monday, experts said. According to NASA, the comet Tsuchinshan-ATLAS likely traveled from the outer reaches of the solar system, made a close transit past the sun on Sept. 27, and came within 44 miles of Earth on Oct. 12. NASA said that those in the Northern Hemisphere would get more opportunities to catch a glimpse of the comet following Oct. 12. https://ksltv.com/692846/comet-likely-last-seen-when-neanderthals-walked-earth-could-soon-dazzle-in-the-night-sky/ The comet is nearly 2 miles in diameter, with a tail of dust and gasses that extends "for tens of millions of miles," Bill Cooke, lead of NASA's Meteoroid Environment Office at the Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, told NPR. The comet will appear "low on the western horizon in the glow of twilight" approximately 45 minutes after sunset, Cooke told NPR. Using special equipment may help the comet's visibility. As the month continues, the comet will move away from the sun and out of the solar system. The comet will appear higher in the sky and dimmer each night. The National Weather Service's Salt Lake City office said that viewers along the Wasatch Front and western Utah will have an easier time spotting the ancient celestial traveler, as "conditions should be better this evening," compared to Sunday's cloud cover.

☄️Have you been trying to spot the Comet Tsuchinshan-ATLAS in the western horizon and been foiled by cloud cover (looking at you, last night in the SL Valley)? Well, good news for the Wasatch Front and western Utah, conditions should be better this evening. #utwxpic.twitter.com/cgciifMWAj — NWS Salt Lake City (@NWSSaltLakeCity) October 14, 2024

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