What could become one of the brightest comets of this century will be visible from this evening, Thursday, October 10, at sunset. This will be the first opportunity to observe this comet discovered in 2023 from Piedmont and perhaps also one of the few possible comets in a very cloudy October. So let’s try not to miss this “window” onto a celestial body that is expected to be very bright.
The weather forecast is good: the sky should not only be clear, but it should be clear and therefore suitable for observation. I recommend starting your position from a location with a clear horizon to the west, where the sun sets just before 7 p.m. No tools will be needed, although a good smartphone with good lenses can help in trying to immortalize the comet’s first appearance as Cuneo.
Once the Sun disappears behind the Alps (if observed from Cuneo, for example from Bari Park, it will occur over the Alpine arc between Monte Matto and the Stura Valley) around 7pm or shortly after, the comet will suddenly appear with a short tail pointing upwards. But it will disappear after a few minutes because it will fall behind the Alps.
If you observe it in the following days at the same time (7 p.m.) always in the west, you will see it – from evening to evening – higher and higher in the sky and then set after a few minutes. In fact, the comet is moving away from the Sun after moving around it in its very long orbit, with a period calculated at 80 thousand years: in fact, for the human race, this comet will never return again (!) Now it is moving away from the Sun with its tail extending in the opposite direction.
Unfortunately, currently the weather forecast is not favorable for the next few days. It seems the only possible window is tonight.
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