BALTIMORE — Comet Atlas is lighting up the night sky in Maryland! Tuesday October 15th will be one of our last best shots to see the shooting star!
Atlas in 44 million miles away. On a celestial scale, that is pretty close. The comet's official name is C/2023 A3 Tsuchinshan-ATLAS.
Here is how to see it:
Just after sunset, which is 6:27 here, look west (toward the sunset). ?the comet will be low on the horizon and only visible just after sunset. This is because it has to catch the sunlight bending around the earth before it fades into darkness. You can see it with the naked eye, but it will be much better with binoculars or a telescope.
A WMAR employee, Jason Mundis, captured this picture:
As we get later in the month, Atlas will get higher and higher in the sky. That will mean less sunlight will hit it, making it more dim and harder to see.
Here is a map of light pollution in our state:
Try to get into the yellow colors, at least, for a better view.
We will have a few clouds around, but it does look to clear to the west, which will help.
Above is a snapshot 30 minutes after sunset. Viewing will be better for some.
