Ancient comet to light up Australian skies: Here's how you can see it

Comet C/2023 A3 (Tsuchinshan-Atlas) will move between the planet and the sun in the east around October 9 and 10, increasing in brightness and potentially being visible during the day.

Swinburne University astrophysics researcher Dr Adam Batten warned that only trained professionals should look for the comet near the sun during the day and wait until October 12 to see it.

"After that, you're going to hopefully see it just after sunset," he said.

"It's going to be west, pretty low on the horizon and at the same time, Venus is going to be visible."

The astronomer said the comet would be visible where you could see the Southern Cross and the horizon including beaches with a westerly outlook.

It will be the biggest comet to be seen for the remainder of 2024 and was discovered last year.

Dr Batten said many people would be able to see the comet with the naked eye which is a rare occurrence.

"Most comets that people hear about each year, they're actually kind of hard to see, and so this comet is very likely to be quite visible," he said.

Made of ice and rock, comets are seen as they head towards the sun, causing the ice to break up, melt, and reflect the sun's light towards Earth.

Halley's Comet was the first comet to be discovered as a returning comet and is spotted in the skies every 76 years.

Astronomers could only determine whether it is a comet or an asteroid about a year before it is seen.

Dr Batten said the comet's name was given for the year it was discovered but astronomers would be interested to hear of a more "fun" name for it.