Would you like to see the comet tonight? If you've seen the hype about Comet Tsuchinshan-ATLAS (also called C/2023 A3 and Comet A3) online, you'll want to know exactly when to look, where it is, and how to find it.

After all, the rare sight of a comet visible to the naked eye – one that orbits the sun only once every 80,000 years – is a sight rivaling Thursday's global Northern Lights display.

Fortunately, it is now clearly visible in the west in the sky after sunset when the weather is clear. As an added bonus, tonight, Thursday, October 17, you'll be able to see not only the comet, but – right behind you – a rising “supermoon.”

ForbesYour ultimate guide to seeing the comet every night this week – before it fadesFrom

The comet has now just exceeded its absolute brightness, but in a way that's a good thing because it's now much higher in the sky. That means you can watch from anywhere – no special trips to mountainsides or beaches required – and it now shines in darker skies than it did just a few days ago. If you find it, here's how to photograph it.

It is now almost 80 million kilometers away, but more importantly, it is higher in the sky and therefore easier to see over mountains and buildings.

Here's exactly when and where to look to see the comet with your naked eyes on Thursday, October 17.

Note: Times and observing instructions apply to mid-latitude observers in the Northern Hemisphere. Check the exact time Sunset where you are and the comet's demise Stellarium Web for exact times for your exact location.

How to locate Comet Tsuchinshan-ATLAS: Thursday, October 17th

Position: West, 37 degrees from the sun in Serpens

Time: 45 minutes later Sunset where you are

Strength: +1.3

Distance of the comet from the Sun: 60.9 million miles (98 million kilometers)

Distance of the comet from Earth: 49.9 million miles (80.3 million kilometers)

Tonight, the comet will be visible over the western horizon about 45 minutes after sunset and will set about two hours and 10 minutes later. That means it will be in the sky about 15 minutes longer than it was on Wednesday.

However, there is good reason to go outside 10 minutes before sunset in the west – about an hour before the sky darkens enough for the comet to appear – because the west will see the full Hunter's Moon, a large, bright supermoon, rising east.

ForbesJust the time to see this week's Super Hunter's Moon at its bestFrom

How to use a “cosmic coat hanger” to find the comet

Its brightness will bleach the sky, but not enough to make the comet difficult to see. Turn back 180 degrees from the Moon to look west toward the bright planet Venus and the bright, twinkling, reddish star Arcturus, the brightest star in the constellation Boutes; The comet will be high above a point about halfway between them.

Think of it this way; If Arcturus and Venus are the ends of a coat hanger, the comet is the hook. With this knowledge, you should be able to find the comet with the naked eye. However, since you'll be outside at dusk and there's a lot of moonlight, you'll want to bring binoculars to speed up the process.

When you locate Comet Tsuchinshan-ATLAS, you will receive a bonus pair of binoculars that will give you a great view.

How do you pronounce “Tsuchinshan”?

Tsuchinshan is the English name for the Purple Mountain Observatory in Nanjing, China, which discovered comet Tsuchinshan-ATLAS in January 2023. This observatory is also commonly called Zijinshan. The pronunciation is similar to “tsu-jing-shon”.

“The tsu Part actually sounds pretty close to that ts sound like in English It's a little“, said the astronomer Dr. Qicheng Zhang of the Lowell Observatory in Flagstaff, Arizona, who observed the comet, said in an email. “The chin Part – now usually transcribed as Jin – sounds pretty nice Jin In Jingle Bells” and the Shan sounds like it somehow Sunbut with that U.N Part may sound a little more like that To Sound pure from with a German accent.”

Now you can say it and see, you're okay.

Check my feed every day this week and next for a daily “comet tracker” with sky maps and tips for spotting the comet.

I wish you clear skies and big eyes.