Scientists discover bright 'sungrazer' comet that could be visible with the naked eye this month — after Tsuchinshan–ATLAS

Throughout the first half of October, a super bright comet, known as Tsuchinshan–ATLAS, will be visible to the naked eye in parts of the late night and early morning sky as it makes its closest approach to Earth for more than 80,000 years.

However, it turns out that the "once-in-a-lifetime" comet is not the only visitor in town. Astronomers have just discovered a second comet, C/2024 S1 (ATLAS), which will also make its closest approach to our planet this month and potentially be visible without a telescope.

Over the last few weeks, skywatchers have been obsessed with Tsuchinshan–ATLAS, which was first discovered in early 2023. The comet was previously predicted to break apart on its approach to Earth but has stayed intact and will make its closest approach to our planet on Saturday (Oct. 12). It can be spotted with the naked eye and has been captured in several stunning photographs but will likely start to fade from view in the coming weeks.

But on Sept. 27, astronomers at Hawaii's Asteroid Terrestrial-impact Last Alert System (ATLAS) project, which played a role in discovering Tsuchinshan–ATLAS, spotted C/2024 S1 for the first time. The newfound comet was initially designated "A11bP7I" but after follow-up observations confirmed its existence, it was given its official new title, according to the Virtual Telescope Project.

Related: Blazing comet tail is whipped by solar winds in astonishing Astronomy photo

Not much is known about the C/2024 S1's size, shape or orbit around the sun. However, it likely comes from the Oort Cloud — a large reservoir of comets and other icy objects near the solar system's edge — and probably hasn't been this close to the sun for centuries.

The newfound comet will make its closest approach to Earth on Oct. 24, when it will come within 81.8 million miles (131.6 million km) of our planet. Four days later, on Oct. 28, it will reach its closest point to the sun, or perihelion, when it will skim past our home star at a distance of around 765,000 miles (1.2 million km).