Comet Atlas C/2024 G3, a spectacle in the sky, is about to arrive just days after the Quadrantids meteor shower. On January 13, it will reach its closest point to the sun and to Earth, with the potential to become the brightest comet of 2025. Here’s everything you need to know.
Comet C/2024 G3 was discovered on April 5, 2024, by a network of telescopes scanning space for asteroids that could hit Earth. It originates from the Oort Cloud, a remote region at the outer edge of the solar system. When it reaches perihelion, it will come within 13.5 million kilometers of the sun.
According to calculations, C/2024 G3 may reach a brightness of magnitude –4.5, making it visible to the naked eye in the southern hemisphere. However, its unusually close journey to the sun raises questions about whether it will survive.
The comet’s orbital path suggests that it has already survived a close pass 160,000 years ago. “It will be very heated and may not survive,” says Nick James, director of the British Astronomical Association. If it survives, it could be an impressive object in the evening sky from the southern hemisphere after perihelion.
To observe the comet, those in the southern hemisphere should look for it to the west just after sunset on January 13. However, identifying it without proper equipment and protective gear can be dangerous. The comet’s proximity to the sun and interference from the moon may also make observation more difficult.
For those who want to track the comet, images from the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory’s Lasco C3 coronagraph or databases such as the IAU Minor Planet Center and Comet OBServation (COBS) are available.
Source: https://www.wired.com/story/brightest-comet-2025-atlas-c-2024g3