A BLACK Country photographer is hoping for another chance to see ‘the comet of the century’ after capturing it on camera as it put in an appearance in the skies over South Staffordshire.

Joanna Noble, who lives in Kingswinford, captured C/2023 A3 Tsuchinshan-Atlas in a beautiful shot taken in Kinver on Saturday night (October 12).

The comet, discovered in January 2023, visits the inner solar system roughly every 80,000 years so it would have last been visible from Earth when the Neanderthals walked the planet.

It comes from the Oort Cloud, a giant spherical shell surrounding our solar system which is home to billions of objects including comets, the Royal Astronomical Society has said.

It is expected to be visible in the skies until October 30.

For the best chance of seeing it, skywatchers are advised to look to the west just after sunset.

News media organisations have labelled it ‘the comet of the century’ but the Royal Astronomical Society’s Dr Robert Massey has described it simply as “a nice comet”.

NASA said it was expected to come within an estimated 44 million miles of Earth on October 12 when talented snapper Joanna managed to get her shot.

In a post on X (formerly Twitter) she said: “Well, I can’t feel my fingers, but it was worth it! There she is! Comet C/2023 A3 Tsuchinshan-Atlas. Hopefully this isn’t the only chance I’ll get to see her!”

She later added that she hoped she might have another chance to see the comet “one last time before she wanders off for another 80,000 years”.