Scientists said a comet known as the Oort Cloud comet — or C/2023 A3 Tsuchinshan-ATLAS — will pass by Earth on Saturday for the first time in 80,000 years.
According to NASA, the comet will come within about 44 million miles of Earth, marking its first appearance since an era when Neanderthals walked the planet.
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The comet successfully made its closest transit pass of the sun on Sept. 27, according to NASA, and was visible for those in the Southern Hemisphere in September and early October. Scientists were wary about it surviving the pass since its icy body might not have been able to withstand the extreme heat.
But the comet is mostly intact and now the Northern Hemisphere may get a glimpse of it from Oct. 12 through mid-November.
NASA said the Oort Cloud comet was first discovered in 2023 by observers at China’s Tsuchinshan Observatory and by an Asteroid Terrestrial-impact Last Alert System (ATLAS) telescope in South Africa. The comet's official name is in honor of both observatories.