PHOTOS: Central Texans capture comet passing over region

AUSTIN (KXAN) — Some Central Texans witnessed a once-in-a-lifetime astronomical event this weekend, as a comet passed over the region and was visible to the naked eye.

Astronomers discovered the ancient Oort Cloud comet — named C/2023 A3 Tsuchinshan-ATLAS — in 2023, with the “ancient celestial traveler” passing by earth in mid-October, according to the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). The rare sight isn’t expected to reappear near earth for another 80,000 years, experts at NASA added.

KXAN viewers in Dripping Springs, Liberty Hill, south Austin, Lago Vista, Leander and Salado shared images capturing the phenomenon Saturday and Sunday evenings. NASA experts previously said the comet was expected to “come within approximately 44 million miles” of earth on Saturday.

NASA officials added that by Monday, the comet could still be visible midway between the star Arcturus and the planet Venus. The comet is expected to disappear from view by early November, NASA experts noted.

What are comets?

NASA defined comets as the “frozen leftovers” comprising dust, rock and ices that can vary in size from a few miles to tens of miles wide. As they near the sun, their temperatures heat up and the comets emit gases and dust to create a “glowing head,” with the material creating a tail trailing behind.

In total, NASA officials said there are probably billions of comets orbiting around our sun within the Kuiper Belt as well as the Oort Cloud, located further away.

More information on this latest comet passing over earth is available on NASA’s blog.

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