Comet-ose

Nature Nugget: You won’t see this spectacular sight ever again! Comet A3 (Tsuchinshan–ATLAS) has been lighting up social media and the night sky recently. According to EarthSky.org, it’s the brightest comet in 27 years, since Hale-Bopp in 1997. A3 is a long-period comet, with an 80,000-year orbit around the sun. Its orbit is retrograde, meaning that the comet moves in the opposite direction to most major solar system planets. Its perihelion distance—closest point to the sun—came on September 27, 2024, when it was 0.39 astronomical units (AU, or Earth-sun distances) from our star. The comet was closest to Earth on October 12. It will only be visible into late October, so check it out soon or wait another 80,000 years!

The picture above is one of several great shots my friend, Chris Helzer, posted yesterday. He caught A3 in the act of showing off over the Norden Chute, my absolute favorite spot on Nebraska's Niobrara River. Chris is a crazy good photographer who mostly chases prairie flora and fauna. You won’t find A3 in his amazing blog, but check it out anyway. He even makes spiders look cute!