Scorching on the tail of the Quadrantids meteor bathe, one other spectacle within the sky is about to reach: comet Atlas C/2024 G3, which can attain perihelion—the purpose of its orbit closest to the solar—on January 13. On the identical day, we may also see it at its closest level to Earth, and it may change into 2025’s brightest comet, throughout a yr wherein no different comets are more likely to be seen to the bare eye. Right here’s all the pieces it’s good to know.
C/2024 G3 was found on April 5, 2024, by the Asteroid Terrestrial-Affect Final Alert System (Atlas)—a community of telescopes that scans area for asteroids that might probably hit Earth. The comet comes from the Oort Cloud, a distant area on the outer fringe of the photo voltaic system that’s believed to include the remnants of the supplies that shaped the photo voltaic techniques’s planets.
When comet C/2024 G3 reaches perihelion, it’ll come inside simply 13.5 million kilometers of the solar—for context, Mercury, the planet closest to the solar, orbits the star at a distance of 47 million kilometers. In keeping with the newest calculations reported by the Planetary Society, C/2024 G3 may attain a brightness of magnitude –4.5, which is about the identical as Venus, and is more likely to be seen to the bare eye for individuals positioned within the southern hemisphere.
The comet’s unusually shut journey to the solar, nevertheless, raises questions on whether or not it’ll survive. Its orbital path means that it’s a dynamically outdated comet, and that this isn’t its first journey across the solar. Actually, its final method is estimated to have been about 160,000 years in the past, which implies it might have already survived an in depth move. “It is going to be very heated and should not survive,” says Nick James, director of the comet part of the British Astronomical Affiliation. “But when it does, it could possibly be a formidable object within the night sky from the southern hemisphere after perihelion.”
How you can Observe the Comet
Ought to it survive unscathed, the comet will likely be seen within the southern hemisphere to the west simply after sundown on January 13. The comet’s orbital configuration makes it troublesome to look at for these within the northern hemisphere—it’ll seem very low within the sky simply after sundown or earlier than dawn, however is more likely to be drowned out by twilight.
The comet’s proximity to the solar signifies that figuring out it could possibly be harmful, and James says that C/2024 G3 “ought to solely be noticed in case you are an skilled observer.” Wanting instantly on the solar with out protecting tools could cause everlasting eye harm.
There may also be interference from the sunshine of the moon, which will likely be in its waning phases, which may make remark harder. Observing the comet with the bare eye within the southern hemisphere is perhaps potential, however binoculars or a telescope is perhaps wanted.
Those that don’t wish to miss the present can observe the comet in photographs from the Photo voltaic and Heliospheric Observatory’s Lasco C3 coronagraph, or seek the advice of the IAU Minor Planet Heart or the Comet OBServation (COBS) database.
This story initially appeared on WIRED Italia and has been translated from Italian.
