Rare comet set to appear for first time in 160,000 years

The bright comet was pictured over Earth from the International Space Station

A super rare comet could appear in the night sky later this week.

It's thought that Comet C/2024 G3 (Atlas) could be seen across the globe for the first time in 160,000 years.

Nasa says it's hard to predict how bright the comet will be, but it's thought it might be powerful enough to be seen without a telescope.

While the exact location where it will appear is still unknown, experts think it may be best observed from the southern hemisphere.

What could happen this week?

Some comets take a few years to travel around the Sun. However, others take much longer and some only ever appear once.

Comet C/2024 G3 (Atlas) was first spotted last year by Nasa's Asteroid Terrestrial-impact Last Alert System - which looks out for smaller near-Earth objects.

Experts say that the comet was at its closest point to the Sun on Monday and that it could be visible this week.

According to Nasa, predicting the brightness of a comet is very difficult, but it's thought that Comet C/2024 G3 (Atlas) could remain bright enough to be seen by the naked eye.

Over the weekend, Nasa astronaut Don Pettit, shared a photograph on social media of the comet taken from the International Space Station.

He wrote: "It is totally amazing to see a comet from orbit. Atlas C2024-G3 is paying us a visit.

While the exact location where it might be seen is unknown, experts think it could be best observed from the southern hemisphere.

Cosmology expert Dr Shyam Balaji, from King's College London, explained that current calculations suggest "it will pass about 8.3 million miles from the Sun."

He added, "As with all comets, its visibility and brightness can be unpredictable."

Dr Balaji suggested that people wanting to spot the comet should track its position to find where it may appear in the sky.

They should then look for a dark location away from light pollution and use a pair of binoculars or a small telescope.

Comets are large objects formed from chunks of ice and dust.

As they pass by the Sun, the heat begins to melt the ice and dust - turning the water content from a solid to a gas - and creating a beautiful, bright tail trailing behind it.