It’s the final countdown for skygazers as the much anticipated Comet Tsuchinshan-ATLAS will disappear from our night sky by early November – and likely, forever.

Only discovered in 2023, Comet C/2023A3 Tsuchinshan-ATLAS is visible through the naked eye right now. It won't return for another 80,000 years.

The Hunter's Moon of October 2024 will be the largest full moon of the year thanks to its proximity to Earth. The moon arrived at perigee, its closest point to Earth in its slightly elliptical, or oval-shaped orbit, on the evening of Wednesday (Oct. 16), coming within just 221,938 miles (357,174 kilometers) of our planet.

Use this table to see how the visibility of Tsuchinshan-ATLAS will be affected by the comet’s position, as well as the Sun and Moon.

A rare celestial event is lighting up the night sky this month as Comet Tsuchinshan-Atlas makes its closest approach to Earth for the first time in roughly 80,000 years.

The comet Tsuchinshan-ATLAS is visible about an hour and a half after sunset, but it’s getting dimmer every day. And it only comes around every 80,000 years.

The best comet of the year is starting to fade in brightness, but it’s still an easy naked-eye object in the evening sky.

Comet C/2023 A3 (Tsuchinshan–ATLAS) was only discovered in January 2023 and is said to have last been visible from earth 80,000 years ago when the Neanderthals were alive. It’s bright trail has left stargazers in awe across Northumberland as many managed see it with the naked eye on a clear night.

Watch Comet Tsuchinshan-ATLAS as seen from a telescope in Italy Credit: The Virtual Telescope Project Watch live view of the Comet Tsuchinshan-ATLAS as seen from the Virtual Telescope Project in Rome,