Comet C2023-A3, also known as Comet A3, viewed from the International Space Station (ISS) on 22 September 2024. This comet, originating from the Oort cloud, was discovered by the Purple Mountain Observatory in China and ATLAS South Africa in early 2023. NASA astronaut Matthew Dominick captured a picture of the comet from a distance of about 160 million kilometres away. The comet made its closest approach to the Sun at a distance of 0.39 AU (58 million kilometres) on 27 September 2024, becoming visible to the naked eye. The comets head measures about 209,000 kilometres in diameter, with a tail stretching out for 29 million kilometres. It is not expected to return for another 80,000 years.