Check out some amazing photos of Comet C/2023 A3 from people across Montana! This comet will be visible to the naked eye for the next two weeks in the western/southwestern sky beginning about 45 minutes after sunset.
The first one is from Josh Rutledge seen from north of Great Falls on Saturday night (October 12, 2024).
A photo from Mike Aldrich seen from the Little Belt Mountains:
Here's a photo from Elaine Bearchild in Heart Butte:
A photo from Anthony New Breast in Ronan:
And from Joey Castle, taken west of Great Falls:
PBS reports that Comet C/2023 A3 will be at its brightest for a week or two after October 12, the day it’s closest to Earth. As the days pass, the comet will get fainter and move to a higher part of the sky.
According to PBS, a second comet - C/2024 S1 - should be visible toward the end of October, passing closest to Earth on October 24 – low in the eastern sky just before sunrise. After swinging around the Sun, it may reappear in the western night sky right around Halloween.
WHAT IS A COMET?
According to the National Aeronautics & Space Administration (NASA), comets are cosmic snowballs of frozen gases, rock, and dust that orbit the Sun. When frozen, they are the size of a small town.
When a comet's orbit brings it close to the Sun, it heats up and spews dust and gases into a giant glowing head larger than most planets.
The dust and gases form a tail that stretches away from the Sun for millions of miles.
