ST. LOUIS -- Comet Tsuchinshan-Atlas, a rare and bright comet, should be visible through October, weather permitting. The comet is expected to be visible to the naked eye, but binoculars or telescopes will provide a better view.
Comets are frozen remnants from the solar system's formation. Tsuchinshan-Atlas originated from the Oort Cloud beyond Pluto. After its closest approach of about 44 million miles from Earth, it won't return for 80,000 years.
To view the comet, observers should look west about an hour after sunset on a clear night. The comet will appear as a fuzzy circle to the right of Venus with a long tail stretching away from it.
There's an easy way to identify the objects in the sky if you're not sure which one is a comet, star, or planet. Download an app like SkyView to use the camera on your smartphone to name each light in the heavens.
The Oort Cloud, a theoretical spherical shell surrounding our solar system, is home to billions of icy celestial bodies and extends trillions of miles into space. While invisible to us, this cloud is the source of long-period comets that occasionally visit our inner solar system.
These long-period comets, with orbits spanning hundreds to millions of years, are of significant scientific interest. They may have played a role in delivering water to early Earth, potentially contributing to the origins of life. However, they also pose a potential threat due to their unpredictable nature and high velocities when entering the inner solar system.