A comet that won’t fly by Earth for another 80,000 years has been captured in mesmerizing images that raced across the South Carolina sky.
The unique comet, nicknamed A3, emerged from the Oort Cloud, a mysterious bubble-shaped phenomenon that encompasses our solar system.
Stargazers eagerly awaited what they called the “comet of the century,” which was last seen 8,000 decades ago.
And those lucky enough to catch a glimpse of history were able to view the incredible images.
Now, the comet that is visiting Earth from interstellar space will live on in mesmerizing images.
A unique comet, nicknamed A3, was spotted traveling through the South Carolina sky and captured in magical photos
The comet was visible in the western sky shortly after sunset above the Lake Murray Dam Hydroelectric Intake Towers near Columbia, South Carolina.
The Oort Cloud is a great distance from Earth — even farther than Pluto, which is more than 3.24 billion miles away from our planet.
But the comet is expected to come much closer, within 45 million miles of Earth, NASA reported.
People in the Southern Hemisphere have already seen the event, but those who haven’t seen it should not give up hope.
Yesterday was only the first day of its arrival. Scientists say those who look up into the western sky just after sunset could catch a glimpse in the coming weeks, Fox Carolina reported.
Ashley Pagnotta, a professor of physics and astronomy at the College of Charleston, said you could see it with the naked eye yesterday if the sun hit the comet’s tail in just the right spot, the Post and Courier reported.
The comet will not pass through Earth’s skies for another 80,000 years and was last seen 8,000 decades ago
The comet emerged from the Oort Cloud — a bubble-like phenomenon that encompasses our solar system
But of course, you can always watch the comet in all its glory with binoculars.
The best time to see A3 is early next week, Sky and Telescope reported.
The Oort Cloud sounds like any other cloud — except that if people were to visit, they wouldn’t find a bubble-like, white, delicate creation.
Pagnotta said it’s made up of huge rocks and debris, some of which are even taller than mountains.
It’s thought to be the result of leftover fragments from the time our solar system was created.
Comet A3 was captured early Friday morning in San Francisco, California, just at sunrise, flying over the Golden Gate Bridge3
Stargazers are calling A3 the ‘comet of the century’ and it arrived for the first time on Friday, but it could be visible in the coming weeks
Billions of years ago, the cloud acted as a “hockey net” and caught rocks and ice chunks as big as Mount Everest, according to the Post and Courier.
Astronomers call Oort’s comets time capsules because they contain materials dating back to the birth of the solar system.
Although the comet will still be 43 million miles (70 million kilometers) from Earth, advanced technology is bringing it close enough for astronomers around the world to analyze it and learn what materials it contains.
The comet is named after the place where it was first spotted in 2023, the Tsuchinshan Chinese Observatory and the Asteroid Terrestrial-impact Last Alert System.
Astronomers’ predictions raise hopes that the comet will brighten as it rises again in October, making it possible for city dwellers to see it.
The Oort Cloud, from which the comet emerges, is thought to be the result of fragments left behind as our solar system formed.
The comet is expected to rise higher in the sky each evening and become easier to see, as long as it remains bright enough.
The Southern Hemisphere had a clearer view of the comet, but as we approach mid-October, the Northern Hemisphere is expected to see it more clearly.
A3 was also spotted early Friday morning in San Francisco, California and around 6 a.m. at sunrise Friday morning over the Golden Gate Bridge.
Comets can be classified as either “long” or “short” depending on the number of years they take to orbit the sun. Short-period comets take less than 200 years, while the longest known orbit takes more than 250,000 years to complete one orbit around the sun.
And luckily for us, there is absolutely no chance of the comet hitting Earth during its journey through our planet’s sky.