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Tennesseans still have the opportunity to see something that won’t be seen on Earth for another 80,000 years so long as they take advantage of their chance for the rest of the month.

According to NASA, the Oort Cloud comet, known as C/2023 A3 Tsuchinshan-ATLAS, is expected to be visible to the naked eye across the Northern Hemisphere for several weeks in October, with the best opportunity between Oct. 12 and 26. The closest approach to Earth was Saturday, Oct. 12, where it was at a distance of 44 million miles.

NASA astronomer Bill Cooke, who leads the Meteoroid Environment Office at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, recommends those trying to see the comet choose a dark vantage point just after nightfall. He recommended looking to the southwest, roughly 10 degrees above the horizon, and to identify the constellations of Sagittarius and Scorpio. The comet should be visible between them.

By Oct. 14, the comet remained visible at the midway point between the bright star Arcturus and the planet Venus. Cooke’s last piece of advice is to savor the view, as after early November the comet won’t be back for 80,000 years.

The comet got its name from the first astronomers and observers who saw it in early 2023. The Tsuchinshan Observatory in China detected it first in January, followed by a team using the Asteroid Terrestrial-Impact Last Alert System, or ATLAS, in South Africa.