Debbie Gregory, 53, from Lymington heard much about Comet A3, also known as Tsuchinshan-ATLAS and labelled the “comet of the century” by some, on the radio and the television before it flew across the sky on Saturday evening.
It was last visible from Earth 80,000 years ago, when Neanderthals were walking the planet, and Debbie said she felt she did not want to miss such a rare opportunity.
She said: “They kept saying on the radio and the news, look to the west at dusk so that’s exactly what I did.
“When I heard it was next going to be visible in 80,000 years, I thought well I will definitely be dead by then – so I kept an eye out for it.
“It was 7.03pm and I looked up to the sky expecting to be disappointed when I saw this huge round object with a trail behind it.
“I could not believe my eyes – there it was.
“Only by chance did I see it – the comet was only visible for about a minute before it disappeared.”
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The Lymington resident quickly pulled her iPhone from her pocket and snapped a picture before Comet A3 disappeared out of sight.
Scientists believe the comet, only discovered last year, came from the Oort Cloud – a giant spherical shell beyond the orbit of Pluto that surrounds the solar system and contains billions of objects including comets.
The comet was previously visible between September 27 and October 2, when it flew across skies in the southern hemisphere.
Comet A3 passed about 44 million miles from Earth on Saturday night.
Debbie added: “It’s always fascinating when something like this is going on – I have been fortunate enough to see eclipses and planets, but I opened the back door and it just happened to be there.
“One thing I definitely can say is that it looks nothing like an aeroplane in the sky.”
Between October 12 and 30, people may be able to see the comet using binoculars or even with the naked eye in the UK.
