You’re probably seeing your social media feed fill up with pictures of night skies again.
A week after the northern lights were visible in the Mid-Atlantic, a rare comet made an appearance.
But, if you missed it Wednesday, don’t worry; you still have a few more days to catch it.
Comet C/2023 A3 — known simply as comet A3 — was first discovered last year and was first visible in the night sky earlier this month, with peak viewing from Oct. 16 through Oct. 20.
How do I see comet A3 in Delaware?
Comet C/2023 A3 will be visible in the sky over the next few days for more than an hour shortly after sunset each night.
For those in Delaware, the sun sets around 6:25 p.m., so the best viewing starts around 7:10 p.m. The comet will be visible for about 90 minutes before it dips too low.
About 45 minutes after sunset, go outside and face the direction the sun went down, in the west-southwest sky.
At first, it will be lower on the horizon, but each night it will climb higher, giving you a better chance to spot it.
One way to know where to look for is to hold your fist, thumb up, at arm’s length with the bottom of your hand lined up on the horizon.
Your fist will cover about 10 degrees of the sky. On Oct. 17, comet A3 will be about 6 degrees — roughly half a fist — above the horizon.
On Oct. 20, the comet will be about 12 degrees above the horizon, or just above your fist.
What does comet A3 look like?
As you look for Comet C/2023 A3, you’ll notice a fuzzy, glowing ball slowly moving across the sky. From our position, it will drift from right to left in the west-southwest sky. If you’re in a really dark area, you might also catch a glimpse of its tail, trailing behind the comet.
The tail is faint but visible under ideal conditions, and if it’s clear enough, it could stretch across about 5 degrees of the sky—which is roughly the same amount of sky the full moon covers from our view.
Comet A3 will cover a small portion of the sky, but it can still be seen for an hour or more each night as it moves toward the horizon. While it’s visible, it will gradually make its way across the sky horizontally.
The comet won’t look like it’s moving in real time as you watch it, meaning it won’t appear to be zipping through the sky like a shooting star. Instead, it will seem mostly stationary, like the way we see stars or planets, and its position will slowly shift over time. If you look at the comet early on and then check back after about 10 to 15 minutes, you’ll notice that it has moved slightly to the left, as it drifts across the sky.
This article originally appeared on Asbury Park Press: Comet A3 is still visible; how to see it in New Jersey
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