How To See Rare Comet Over Colorado Tonight Before It Disappears
There's a comet in the night skies over Colorado at the moment that if you miss it this time, you'll have to wait a long time to see it again. Approximately 80,000 years, to be a bit more specific. Better start stocking up on vitamins if you want to be around those days.
The comet is called "Comet Tsuchinshan-ATLAS" and was first discovered last year by a Chinese observatory and an ATLAS telescope in South Africa, hence the shared name. While it was only discovered last year, NASA estimates it's actually pretty old, and has traveled "here" from out beyond Pluto in an area known as the Oort Cloud, which is an invisible, icy cloud that surrounds our solar system.
The comet was projected to be close enough to be visible from earth the middle of this month, and sure enough it was right on schedule as posts began showing up on social media on the 13th. It should be visible for the rest of the week, projected to be the brightest this Saturday, and easily able to be seen with the naked eye off on our western horizon.
The best time to see it with your own eyes will be shortly after sunset, but given it'll be so low on the horizon, depending on where you are the mountains may block your vantage point. As the night goes on it will rise in the sky, but it won't be as bright, so you'll need to be in a dark place and let your eyes adjust.
Otherwise, sad to say, you'll need to wait another 80,000 years to catch a glimpse for yourself!
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