Brightest comet of 2024 to be visible from Oct. 12: Museum

Taipei, Oct. 2 (CNA) Comet C/2023 A3, the brightest of this year, is anticipated to reach its peak luminosity on Oct. 12 as it reaches its closest point to Earth, the Taipei Astronomical Museum said earlier this week.

The museum said the window of time to view the comet -- discovered in January 2023 by the Tsuchinshan Observatory in China -- will last until the end of October.

It added that stargazers should look out to the western horizon after sunset to boost their chances of catching a glimpse.

While the comet is reportedly visible to the naked eye, using binoculars can boost a person's viewing experience, according to the museum.

The comet could post an apparent magnitude of -2, equivalent to Mercury, it noted.

The magnitude measures the brightness of a celestial body as seen by an observer on Earth and falls in value the brighter an object becomes.

Since the comet has an orbital period of several tens of thousands of years, its upcoming appearance will make this a likely once-in-a-lifetime viewing opportunity, the museum said, citing data from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA).

In addition to this celestial event, astronomical buffs can look forward to the year's largest full moon on Oct. 17, the museum said.

The supermoon will be at its fullest at 7:26 p.m. when it will be approximately 357,000 kilometers from Earth, it said.

Compared to the smallest full moon of the year, which occurred on Feb. 24 and was 405,000 kilometers away from Earth, this month's supermoon will appear around 14 percent larger in diameter, according to the museum.