Last chance to see the 'comet of the century'

Sunset photo, everyone patiently waited for comet C2023 A3 to appear. (Iain Ogilvie/CTV Viewer)

The “comet of the century” will still be visible for another few days in North America.

The icy object, known to scientists as C/2023 A3, is believed to have originated from the Oort Cloud. That’s the giant spherical bubble that surrounds our solar system which, according to NASA, might contain billions or even trillion of comet-like objects.

Orbax, a physicist and science communicator at the University of Guelph, said the best time to see the comet in North America was on Oct. 12 but stargazers could still see it in the sky until Oct. 20.

“The northern hemisphere will be uniquely favoured as a viewing location, which hasn’t occurred for quite some time,” he said in a media release.

Orbax also called it one of the brightest comets we’re likely to see in our lifetimes.

“The tail is so long and bright that it may even be visible with the unaided eye,” he explained. 

Skywatchers can see the comet by looking towards the western horizon following sunset, but you might get a better view with binoculars or a small telescope.

C/2023 A3 was first discovered in 2023 as it approached the inner solar system.

At its closest, the comet was 70 million kilometres (or 44 million miles) from Earth.

More photos of the comet are in the viewer below.