Northern Californians can see this rare comet that won't return for 80,000 years

SACRAMENTO – Last week, the northern lights People all over Northern California looked up at the night sky. Now another rare celestial event is on the horizon.

Look closely. Can you see it? This bright spot with a green glow in the night sky is a comet flying past Earth – but don't worry, it's still more than 44 million miles away.

Raj Dixit of the Sacramento Valley Astronomical Society said comet Tsuchinshan-ATLAS was first discovered last year. Astronomers say it came from the far corners of our solar system.

“How often do you see something that comes from three light years away, 18 trillion miles away, and is older than planet Earth itself?” Dixit said.

It's been visible in the Southern Hemisphere for weeks, and now people are seeing it across Northern California.

“It's getting higher every day this week and it's getting higher in the sky every day until the end of October,” Dixit said. “The problem is that it gets weaker the further away it gets.”

It is best seen through a telescope, binoculars, or telephoto lens, but can also be seen with the naked eye. To see it, look southwest near the Venus plant after sunset.

“It sets in the evening, so you don’t have that window until after sunset,” Dixit said. “So to think that it's going to be really dark after midnight, no, that's not going to work. It will be gone by then.”

The comet's tail is formed by light reflection from ice and rocks thrown off as it passes the sun.

“This comet actually had two tails in certain places – a foretail and a hindtail,” Dixit said.

According to NASA, the best chance of seeing it is now through October 24th. If you don't see it this year, you'll have to wait a while because it won't be visible for another 80,000 years.