Hongkongers might be able to see comet making rare pass by Earth

Hongkongers might be able to catch a glimpse of a comet this month, the Observatory has said.

Chung Ming-lee took a photo of the comet on Thursday morning from near Tsim Sha Tsui East, and the Observatory confirmed the object was Tsuchinshan-ATLAS.

The comet has also been photographed by others in Hong Kong, Shenzhen and Zhuhai this week.

Sometimes known as a “dirty snowball”, a comet is composed of ice and dust and orbits around the sun.

The Observatory said the comet could be seen from the eastern sky near dawn in the first half of this month. From the middle of this month, it will appear on the west side around dusk.

Unfortunately, it is not bright enough to be seen with the naked eye for now. But fans can capture it using long-exposure photography.