Comet Tsuchinshan-ATLAS, just discovered in February 2023, will likely reach naked-eye brightness as it makes a relatively close approach to Earth at 43.9 million miles on October 12, 2024.

The comet will probably be visible by telescope in early March of 2024 as it inches westward across the constellation Libra in the morning sky. From late March through mid-June, it will travel through Virgo and at the time of the summer solstice be visible with a 6-inch telescope under dark skies.

From mid-July to late September, Comet Tsuchinshan-ATLAS will disappear from view in the sun’s glare before re-emerging in the morning sky around September 27. From then until early November, it will move higher into the southwestern sky as it makes its closest approach to Earth.