Best places to view the A3 comet?

[PadstowGirl]

I've got a few days off next week and would like to surprise DH by booking a few nights away to view this comet thingymajig.
He's really just getting into the night sky.
I know La Palma in the Canary isles is good for this sort of thing but I can't find any 3-4 night deals 😢.
Are the other Canary isles good for astronomy? Where else would be good to visit.
I know this is a bit niche but MN has never failed me yet. 😁

Kielder Observatory! Never been myself but know people who have and they say it's amazing

Oh Thank you, I'd never heard of this. My only concern is that in the UK there is often so much cloud that it's difficult to see any stars at all.
I was thinking that the sky might be clearer abroad.

You’ll need somewhere with clear skies and a really clear, very much unobstructed western horizon to see it at it’s predicted brightest.

Haven’t looked at the fine details of this one but sometimes being more northerly (e.g. UK) can work out better than being southerly (e.g. Canaries)…they vary - should be some detail on line on the specifics of that…I’ll have a look later if you haven’t found anything in the meantime.

Above all be aware there are no guarantees with these things, in terms of being bright, spectacular or not…somebody once said something along the lines of Comets being like cats, they have tails and behave how they want to.

Good Luck

Thanks notimagain.

I’ve been a bit dull and only just NB’d your possible dates of travel…before booking anything you might want to be aware of these comments from an astronomy website:

• October 10-12: from -3.0 to -1.0 mag, appears in the evening in the Northern Hemisphere shortly after sunset, very low in the western sky in the constellation of Virgo. Short observation window, but visible with the naked eye! Best time to see the comet. Makes its closest approach to Earth on October 12.
• October 13-14: from -1.0 to 1.0 mag, quickly losing brightness, but moving farther from the Sun and therefore easier to see. Visible with the naked eye in the evening about an hour after sunset.

I’m not sure how many of these things you’ve seen but I’ve seen a handful and looking at those dates next week wherever you go you’ll possibly really struggle to see much on the 10th-13th other than possibly a bright dot close to the horizon for maybe an hour after sunset…it’s possible TBH any tail might not be visible due to the twilight sky…whilst

The comet dims slightly after 13th it (and any tail) but that might not matter that much because it should get easier to see as it moves away from the Sun and sets later in the evening, so you’ll be able to see it against a darker sky…hopefully that is when it will start to become really spectacular..fingers crossed etc.

starwalk.space/en/news/c2023-a3-tsuchinshan-atlas-next-comet-visible-from-earth-2024

OP, take some binoculars, you'd be amazed how much better you can it and the tail.

Thanks guys! He's got a telescope and binoculars (more suited to birdwatching really) but I thought if we were somewhere like la Palma we could book into an observatory or sneak a look down someone else's scope.
Everywhere seems booked up though and it's not a big place to start with. I'm thinking maybe the west coast of one of the bigger islands might be ok?
So grateful for your advice.

Hi again,

Forgot to come back on my comment “sometimes being more northerly (e.g. UK) can work out better than being southerly (e.g. Canaries)…they vary - should be some detail on line on the specifics of that…I’ll have a look later if you haven’t found anything in the meantime.”

As far as the pure geometry of this goes it looks like the Canaries works out marginally better for visibility than the UK, but really there’s not a lot in it.

The main requirements would still be somewhere with a clear low horizon and good weather. A lack of light pollution would be nice but if you’re looking into the sky to the west over, say the sea, just after sunset (which is where the comet will be) that’s maybe not that important

Don’t know the Canary Islands well enough to give local advice.

Hope you find something that works.

For info the comet is just becoming visible again..

Saw it from somewhere in Europe, south of the UK last night (Saturday 12th)…very very low in the west in the hour or so just after sunset..only just visible to the naked eye once the sky got dark in the minutes before the comet itself set.

Through decent binoculars you can see a short tail.

Hopefully as it moves away from the Sun over the next few days it will become an easier spot before it starts to fade.

Clear Skies…. (Edit to add: At least for the next day or two do not expect it to look anything like the images some of the papers were carrying end of last week, it’s still a tough “spot” if using the naked eye or with basic equipment).