The most anticipated comet of the year will make its closest approach to Earth this weekend

NASA astronaut Matthew Dominick captured this video of Comet Tsuchinshan-ATLAS just above the horizon as the Northern Lights danced above Earth. The beautiful video was captured about 200 miles above Earth from the International Space Station.

A once-in-80,000-year sight will make its closest approach to Earth this weekend before venturing into the vast abyss of space.

Comet C/2023 A3 Tsuchinshan-Atlas made its closest approach to the Sun in September and will approach within 71 million kilometers of Earth.

Because of its proximity, the celestial object appears in the western sky every evening after sunset until about the middle to end of the month.

“Comet C/2023 A3 poses no threat to Earth,” Peter Veres, a researcher at the Minor Planet Center, previously told FOX Weather. “We know the comet’s orbit well. The orbit is getting better and better as more and more astrometric observations arrive at our center – the MPC.”

The celestial object was recently discovered in 2023 when observers at China's Tsuchinshan Observatory were conducting routine monitoring.

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View of comet C/2023 A3 Tsuchinshan-ATLAS from the International Space Station.

(NASA)

Astronauts aboard the International Space Station also observed comet Tsuchinshan-Atlas as it traveled around the sun.

The space station captured a photo of the comet on September 19, showing its dusty tail in the vast darkness of space.

Astronomers say the closer a comet gets to the sun, the longer the tail tends to grow.

Comets are simply the remnants of the formation of the solar system, which occurred about 4.5 billion years ago, and are made up of a mixture of ice, dust, rocks and gases.

“Some comets do not survive close encounters with the Sun. If they get too close, radiation and gravitational forces can completely disintegrate them. Tsuchinshan-ATLAS did not suffer this fate, but another comet that astronomers observed, C/2024 S1 ATLAS, may have in May,” NASA explained.

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The celestial feature will likely be visible until the next full moon cycle approaches, which is the full Hunter's Moon on October 17.

Based on orbital calculations, astronomers estimate that once the comet leaves Earth's field of view, it could take another 80,000 years to become visible again, assuming it survives its journey around the solar system.

Missing Comet Tsuchinshan-Atlas doesn't leave too many celestial events left in the calendar year, with three full moons and a close bypass with Jupiter all set to occur before the winter solstice.