See photos of the ancient comet streaking across Massachusetts skies

Henry Lanouette and his wife Kathy went into their Longmeadow backyard with binoculars and looked for it ancient comet together.

“It was very exciting to be able to see it. We had heard so much about it in the news,” Lanouette said. “We saw Starlink (Satellite) trains, so this was another special event for us.”

According to NASA, the comet was last visible from Earth around 80,000 years ago, when Neanderthals roamed the Earth.

Due to its proximity to Earth, the comet will be visible to the naked eye until October 24, according to astronomers.

“Being able to see this comet with the naked eye is a rare opportunity, especially for something that may not return for over 80,000 years.” said Brigitte Gil, who saw the comet in Westport. “Looking at the night sky is my favorite reminder that we are just a small part of something much bigger.”

The comet, called Tsuchinshan–ATLAS is the brightest star since comet NEOWISE passed by in 2020 and can be seen with the naked eye even in city centers and areas with light pollution. Not only is this year's comet brighter, it is also rarer, with Comet NEOWISE expected to return in just 6,800 years.

On Tuesday evening, Steve Butler set off for Mashnee Island in Bourne just after dark. Under a beautiful, clear sky, he had a great view of the western horizon and used a portable telescope to track the comet.

“The sight of the comet is quite impressive. “The fact that it orbits the solar system for over 80,000 years until it orbits the sun again is truly amazing,” Butler said. “It makes me realize how small we all are in a universe that is constantly giving us amazing surprises.”

For Justin Murray, who viewed Comet Hale-Bopp with his father around 1996 when he was 5 years old, the sight of the comet was nostalgic.

Some 28 years later, Murray chased a comet again on Route 56 in Leicester.

“I saw a family where the children had difficulty recognizing the picture. So I invited them to take a look at my camera and they just loved how clearly I could zoom in so they could see it,” Murray said. “It reminded me of how my father got me excited about Hale-Bopp, and I’m glad I was able to pass on that excitement.”

According to NASA, the comet reached its peak brightness during its closest approach to Earth on Saturday, passing within about 44 million miles.

Michael Ren captured the comet at its peak from Great Blue Hill in the Blue Hills Reservation after sunset on Saturday. Despite the city lights, the comet's tail was still clearly visible in the night sky, a sight it won't soon forget.

“Every now and then I think about all the events I missed because I was too young or events I can't see. “I think of the people who were lucky enough to witness them, even if they didn’t know how remarkable they were,” Ren said Wednesday.

According to NASA, the comet was first identified in 2023 by China's Tsuchinshan — or “Purple Mountain” — observatory and an Asteroid Terrestrial-Impact Last Alert System (ATLAS) telescope in South Africa.

The astronomical visitor disappeared earlier this year but was spotted again in the Southern Hemisphere last month and has been visible in the Northern Hemisphere since then, NASA said. It will rise higher into the sky every evening, making it easier to observe but also becoming progressively fainter through the end of October, NASA said.

Chiquita Laurita saw the comet on Plum Island on Saturday evening. From the historic solar eclipse in April to the appearance of the Northern Lights last week, this year has been full of remarkable celestial events, she said.

“What makes this comet sighting so special is that it will be a once-in-a-lifetime observation of this special comet, and I can’t wait to see what else we will find out in our universe,” Laurita said.

The comet comes from the Oort Cloud, a giant spherical shell that surrounds our solar system and is, according to NASA, “like a large, thick-walled bubble made of icy bits of space debris.”

“Like the other celestial wonders we've been blessed with in New England this year, yesterday's mix of the known and the unknown amazed me,” said Timothy Carter, who saw the comet from Lexington on Tuesday evening. “I drove home and thought… 'Thank you, Universe'.”

Erik Fraser explored the comet on October 12 when it reached peak visibility. He went to the Prospect Hill overlook in Harvard, Massachusetts, and caught a breathtaking sight as the sun set.

“It was amazing to observe and capture this 'once in a lifetime' comet,” Fraser said.

Girish Joshi also happened to be on Prospect Hill that same night, scanning the sky for the celestial body. He said that seeing the comet that once graced Earth many millennia ago made him feel more connected to the planet and its history.

“The last time this comet appeared in the night sky, Neanderthals must have watched it in awe,” Joshi said. “After 80,000 years, we watched with equal excitement as our frosty friend began his journey back to the Oort Cloud.”

To see the comet, people should adjust their eyes to the darkness and glance along the western horizon shortly after sunset, astronomers said. And be patient.

“Stay outside as long as possible – it will go down when you look at it, but it will also get darker. This benefits the viewer twice. First, the object becomes more clearly visible. And second, your eyes have become more accustomed to the darkness,” said Tim Brothers, manager of the MIT Wallace Astrophysical Observatory.

According to Forbes' comet tracker, the best time to view the comet on Wednesday evening is 45 minutes after sunset. The comet will be visible over the western horizon and will set about two hours later.

Wayne Collamore, who viewed the comet from Phinney's Harbor at Monument Beach and Bourne Bridge on Saturday, said the sight was “fantastic and humbling at the same time.”

“Each event is unique and watching it is an experience like no other,” he said.

Sabrina Lam can be reached at [email protected].