A comet last seen by the Neanderthals has been spotted in skies over County Durham, Darlington and Teesside. 

Over the weekend and on Monday and Tuesday night, comet A3 (Tsuchinshan-ATLAS), commonly called comet Atlas, was visible to the naked eye over the North East.

(Image: Andrew Thistlethwaite/Camera Club)  The space rock has been called “the comet of the century” because of how bright and visible it was, according to the Royal Astronomical Society (RAS).

The comet was brightest on Monday night, with star gazers and amateur astronomers spotting it. Pictures from Roseberry Topping, Commondale Moor in North Yorkshire, and over Staindrop Road in Darlington show the comet shrouded in bright light, with a tail extending across the sky. 

(Image: Andrew Thistlethwaite/Camera Club)

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Astronomers said it would last have been visible from our planet around 80,000 years ago, and was only discovered in January 2023.

This week marked the last opportunity to see the "comet of the century" before it disappears for another 80,000 years.

(Image: Simon McCabe Photography/Camera Club)

According to the RAS, it is believed comet Atlas came from the the Oort Cloud - a giant spherical shell that surrounds our solar system and contains billions of objects including comets. 

(Image: Simon McCabe Photography/Camera Club)