October sky: After A3, super bright 'sungrazer' comet will be visible at noon

It's the season of comets it seems. As Comet A3 makes its way towards the Sun, another one is already on its way. The ATLAS survey in Hawaii discovered the new comet on September 27 and it hasn't been named yet.

It has been provisionally designated A11bP7I and is expected to be as bright as Venus. According to spaceweather.com, it will be so bright that you might be able to catch it hovering in the sky even during daytime. And yes, this also means that you won't need any special equipment to see the comet.

The newly discovered comet belongs to the "Kreutz sungrazer" category and will make an appearance towards the end of October and early November.

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Peak time to see the comet

Mark your calendars for October 28, and this is when it will be at perihelion, which is at its closest point to the sun. It will have a brightness magnitude of -5 to -7 on this day. This is when you can scan the skies even during daytime to catch a glimpse of it.

Before perihelion, it would be best viewed in the Southern Hemisphere. If it survives its trip to thesun, people in the Northern Hemisphere might be able to witness a spectacular show.

What are Kreutz sungrazer comets?

Kreutz sungrazers are comets that come from the Kreutz family of comets that come extremely close to the sun.

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The name "sungrazers" originates from the fact that these comets have orbits that bring them within a few thousand kilometres of the sun's surface.

Because of their proximity to the sun, most of them are killed. However, the larger ones that escape the wrath of our star develop bright tails and also become visible from Earth.

Sungrazers are believed to originate from one massive comet that broke apart around 2,000 years ago.

The last sungrazer comet to pay us a visit was Ikeya–Seki (C/1965 S1) in 1965. It was also visible during noon at the time and was much brighter than A11bP7I.

"A11bP7I is at least 4-5 magnitudes fainter than Ikeya-Seki at the same distance," Qicheng Zhang, an astronomer at the Lowell Observatory, told spaceweather.com.

"Nonetheless, it could still produce a prominent visual display in early November if it survives its close encounter with the sun."