JACKSON, Wyo. — Seeing the Oort Cloud Comet (OCC), also known as Comet Tsuchinshan-ATLAS, is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, and some locals have already managed to capture it before another 80,000 years go by.
Those hoping to spot the Comet Tsuchinshan-ATLAS will have the best luck looking southwest about 45 minutes after sunset each day, roughly 10 degrees above the horizon, until the end of October.
According to NASA, the Oort Cloud Comet moniker refers to the Oort Cloud, which scientists believe is a giant spherical shell surrounding the Milky Way solar system.
“It’s like a big, thick bubble around our solar system, made of icy, comet-like objects,” NASA writes on their website. “The Oort Cloud’s icy bodies can be as large as mountains – and sometimes larger.”
Comet Tsuchinshan-ATLAS is one of the long-period comets that come from the Oort Cloud, meaning comets that take more than 200 years to orbit the Sun. Another comet that came from the Oort Cloud, known as C/2013 A1 Siding Spring, passed Mars in 2014 and won’t return to the inner solar system for another 740,000 years.
Buckrail is calling all readers to submit their photos of Comet Tsuchinshan-ATLAS! Email photos to tips@buckrail.com.
