Cooke also suggests using cell phone cameras or binoculars to help locate the comet. While it may be difficult to spot with the naked eye, modern cameras often have night or low-light modes that can capture faint celestial objects.
“Comets are more fragile than people may realize,” Cooke said, explaining that many comets break apart when they pass too close to the sun.
“Savor the view,” he advised, as it will be another 80,000 years before the Oort Cloud comet returns.
The Science Behind the Oort Cloud Comet
The Oort Cloud, a vast region of icy bodies that surrounds the solar system, is home to many long-period comets like Tsuchinshan-ATLAS.
These comets spend most of their time in the distant reaches of the solar system, only entering the inner solar system after tens of thousands of years.
The extreme distance and elliptical orbits make them a rare and exciting sight for astronomers and space enthusiasts alike.
In the past three centuries, only nine comets have been bright enough to be visible during the daytime.
