Comet C/2023 A3 (Tsuchinshan-ATLAS), captured from our observatory

These days, the Universe is giving us one of its most beautiful shows: the passage of a comet bright enough to be observed with the naked eye (or almost).

Our team at the Aras de los Olmos Observatory (Vicent Peris, Alicia Lozano, and Óscar Breviá), great experts in astrophotography, have taken some very impressive photos of the comet. Here is one taken yesterday, October 17th, where you can clearly see the nucleus, the tail, and even the antitail.

You still have a chance to see the comet: look for it at the beginning of the night between Venus and Arcturus, in the part of the sky where the Sun has just set. Choose a location as far away from artificial lights as possible. To help you find it, you can take a long-exposure photo of the sky towards the west with your phone, as its brightness is starting to fade due to its distance from the Sun, and it’s easier for your camera to spot it.