Watch for a Shooting Star Over San Francisco's Famous Bridge

Comet A3, also known as Comet Tsuchinshan-ATLAS (C/2023 A3), was spotted in San Francisco, California, early Friday morning, and astronomers believe it will make another appearance in October. The comet was seen flying over the Golden Gate Bridge at sunrise, and stunning time-lapse footage was captured by a photographer. Comet A3 was named after the place where it was first spotted at the Tsuchinshan Chinese Observatory, and the Asteroid Terrestrial-impact Last Alert System. It is predicted to be the "comet of the century," outshining everything but the Moon and stretching its tail over a large portion of the sky. According to The Planetary Society, the comet will reach its perihelion in its 80,000-year orbit, meaning it will be as close as it will get to the Sun at about 36 million miles. Astronomers predict that Comet A3 may become the brightest thing in the sky apart from the Moon, and it will only be visible for a short period of time an hour before sunrise on October 3. It will next be seen on October 12, when it will re-emerge within twilight hours and pass at its closest point, about 44 million miles from Earth. As it sinks closer to the Sun, it will only be visible for a short period of time an hour before sunrise on October 3.

It is recommended to use binoculars or a telescope to spot the comet, and to position yourself with a good view of the horizon due to the comet's low position in the sky. The "averted vision" technique is also recommended, where you look slightly above the comet's position to make out clearer details. Comets are large objects made up of dust and ice that orbit the Sun, and they are known as "frozen leftovers from the formation of the solar system." According to NASA, comets can become as large as a planet as they heat up while orbiting closer to the Sun. The gravity of a planet or star pulls comets from their usual positioning in the Kuiper Belt or Oort Cloud, redirecting them toward the Sun. Comets can be classed as "long-period or short-period" depending on the years it takes for them to orbit around the Sun. Short-period comets take less than 200 years, while the longest known orbit takes more than 250,000 years to make one trip around the Sun.

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