One of the brightest comets seen from Earth could be seen in the skies over the weekend. Another chance encounter will precede a very long return, astronomers said.

Days after the northern lights were visible over the Carolinas, another rare sky event could be coming this week, this one a once-every-80,000-years occurrence. Comet C/2023 A3 Tsuchinshan-ATLAS, which NASA said made its closest pass to Earth over the weekend,

You have just a few weeks left to view the "comet of the century" making its 80,000-year orbit around Earth. Comet C/2023 A3 Tsuchinshan–ATLAS will be visible with the naked eye from Earth until late October, including in Wisconsin. The especially bright comet has been deemed by many stargazers as a once-in-a-lifetime sighting.

Scientists said a comet known as the Oort Cloud comet — or C/2023 A3 Tsuchinshan-ATLAS — will pass by Earth on Saturday for the first time in 80,000 years.