Massive comet will be visible to naked eye. Here's where to look in Massachusetts tonight.

BOSTON — It's not often we get the chance to see one Comet with the naked eye. But in a year already filled with so many astronomical treats, it looks like we might be able to add a comet to the list.

Comet C/2023 A3 flies closest to Earth

Comet Tsuchinshan-ATLAS has an orbit of 80,000 years and is now coincidentally approaching its next flyby of Earth. The comet made its closest approach to our sun on Wednesday, and by 11:39 a.m. Saturday, October 12, it will be just 43,911,824 miles from Earth (its next flyby). At this point, the comet's tail will essentially be pointing directly toward Earth. However, in the following days the tail will turn eastwards, causing dramatic changes in visibility from night to night.

The comet is huge in size and length. Its head is currently a whopping 130,000 miles in diameter. The tail, made up largely of tiny pieces of ice and dust, is estimated to be up to 29 million kilometers long.

C/2023 A3 was brief and barely visible in the early morning sky last week. In the end, most people couldn't see it because it was very faint and low on the horizon.

What time will the comet be visible tonight?

This time we will have a much better chance. The comet will be visible in the western sky for several days starting Friday night after Sunset.

On Friday it will be very low on the horizon (around 4 degrees) and probably a little difficult to see.

In the following nights the conditions should get better and better.

The main viewing events will take place between October 12th and 26th. The comet will be the largest visible object in our solar system (after the Moon, of course).

On Saturday, the comet will be about 6 degrees above the west-southwest horizon about 45 minutes after sunset. If you extend your fist to arm's length, the comet will be about half a “fist” above the horizon. The setting takes place approximately 45 minutes later.

Next week, the comet will be about 3 degrees higher in the sky on each subsequent night and will set about 16 minutes later.

By Saturday, October 19, the comet will have risen about 30 degrees (3 fists) above the horizon and will set nearly three and a half hours later. However, it will lose some brightness each night, slowly fading and becoming increasingly difficult to see with the naked eye.

Prediction for observing the comet

Of course, we have to cooperate with the weather so that we can see something on a given night. In the short term, it should be largely clear on both Friday and Saturday nights, with perhaps just a few high cirrus clouds in some areas late Saturday evening. We expect some clouds and showers Sunday evening. These should clear up during the day on Monday and allow good visibility again.

As always, we would love to see and share your images. Send them to [email protected].