Comet C/2023 A3 (Tsuchinshan–Atlas) sightings around the world – in pictures
Named after the Chinese observatory and South African programme that detected it in 2023, the ‘comet of the century’ may have formed at a distance of up to 400,000 times that between Earth and the Sun. Its coma, or head, measures about 130,000 miles (209,000km) in diameter, with a tail extending 18m miles (29m km). The comet is not expected to return for another 80,000 years
by Arnel Hecimovic · the GuardianLas Vegas, US
Comet C/2023 A3 (Tsuchinshan–Atlas) appears in the western sky shortly after sunset above rock formations at the Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area in Nevada
Photograph: Ethan Miller/Getty Images
Los Angeles, US
Space buffs try to see the the comet using telescopes at the Griffith Park Observatory in California
Photograph: Gene Blevins/ZUMA Press Wire/REX/Shutterstock
Aguas Blancas, Uruguay
Comet C/2023 A3 (Tsuchinshan–Atlas) and the moon are seen over the hills near the village in Lavalleja Department
Photograph: Mariana Suárez/AFP/Getty Images
Tybee Island, US
Comet C/2023 A3 (Tsuchinshan–Atlas) is visible shortly after sunset in the western sky over the Fisherman’s Walk Pier as two men fish in Georgia
Photograph: Sam Wolfe/Reuters
La Fornace Penna, Italy
Comet C/2023 A3 (Tsuchinshan–Atlas) is seen over Sicily
Photograph: Xinhua/REX/Shutterstock
Trona Pinnacles, U.S
Comet C/2023 A3 (Tsuchinshan–Atlas), which orbits the sun once every 80,000 years, passes behind tufa rock formations in California
Photograph: David Swanson/Reuters
Ohrid, North Macedonia
A satellite leaves a trail of light near the tail of the comet, known as the comet of the century, after sunset
Photograph: Ognen Teofilovski/Reuters
Las Vegas, US
Comet C/2023 A3 (Tsuchinshan–Atlas) appears in the western sky shortly after sunset above rock formations at the Red Rock Canyon national conservation area in Nevada
Photograph: Ethan Miller/Getty Images
Ronda, Spain
A satellite leaves a trail of light across the tail of the comet
Photograph: Jon Nazca/Reuters
Big Pine, US
Comet C/2023 A3 (Tsuchinshan–Atlas) appears over the Eastern Sierra mountains as it transitions into the evening sky shortly after sunset, as seen from the Ancient Bristlecone Pine Forest area in California
Photograph: David McNew/Getty Images
Vienna, Austria
Photographers prepare to capture Comet C/2023 A3 (Tsuchinshan–Atlas) in the night sky
Photograph: Georg Hochmuth/APA/AFP/Getty Images
Columbia, US
Comet C/2023 A3 (Tsuchinshan–Atlas) is visible shortly after sunset in the western sky over the Lake Murray Dam Hydroelectric Intake Towers in South Carolina
Photograph: Sam Wolfe/Reuters
Temisas, Spain
A view shows Comet C/2023 A3 (Tsuchinshan–Atlas) before dawn on the island of Gran Canaria
Photograph: Borja Suárez/Reuters
San Francisco, US
Comet C/2023 A3 (Tsuchinshan–Atlas), the brightest comet of the last 13 years, is captured over the Golden Gate Bridge in California
Photograph: Anadolu/Getty Images
Torre Squillace, Italy
Comet C/2023 A3 (Tsuchinshan–Atlas) is seen near Lecce
Photograph: Manuel Romano/NurPhoto/REX/Shutterstock
Salt Lake City, US
Comet C/2023 A3 (Tsuchinshan–Atlas) is visible over the Great Salt Lake in Utah just after sunset
Photograph: Spenser Heaps/AP
Melbourne, US
Comet C/2023 A3 (Tsuchinshan–Atlas) seen over Florida
Photograph: Joe Marino/UPI/REX/Shutterstock