Comet C/2024 G3 (ATLAS) captured on 31 December 2024 utilizing a telescope in Río Hurtado, Chile
Lionel Majzik
A comet that has taken astronomers unexpectedly may shine as brightly as Venus within the evening sky because it passes by Earth over the subsequent few days.
Comet C/2024 G3 (ATLAS) was noticed in April final yr by NASA’s Asteroid Terrestrial-impact Final Alert System when it was greater than 600 million kilometres from Earth. Astronomers initially assumed it wouldn’t survive its orbit near the sun, however later observations prompt that the comet is taking a distinct path that may enable it to outlive and maybe even stay intact for a flyby of Earth.
This new orbit, which takes 160,000 years for a spherical journey, has the comet snaking its means by way of our solar system in a means that makes it seen for stargazers within the southern hemisphere. However for the ultimate a part of its journey across the solar, it must be nearly seen with binoculars to folks within the northern hemisphere too.
Observations for the reason that new orbit was prompt have proven that the comet is rising brighter than anticipated, which may imply it’s breaking apart because it travels nearer to the solar. Nonetheless, the newest observations have proven that the brightness has persevered and even elevated, which wouldn’t be the case if the comet had disintegrated.
If C/2024 G3 survives, it may result in an exceptionally vivid look within the evening sky, with some astronomers predicting its brightness will match that of Venus, making it one of the good comets in many years.
Nonetheless, the comet’s actual brightness is unsure. It may very well be distant sufficient to mirror the solar’s mild and be clearly seen, or it may very well be washed out by the solar’s mild, rendering it invisible.
Astronomers have additionally floated the potential of a phenomenon known as ahead scattering, the place mud from the comet causes it to seem brighter than it could usually, however the probabilities of this are low, in keeping with meteorologist Joe Rao at Space.com.
If the comet does shine brightly, then it can most likely attain its most degree across the time it makes its closest method to the solar. The Central Bureau for Astronomical Telegrams, which aggregates observations from astronomers around the globe, predicts this may occur on 13 January at 10.17am GMT, with the comet’s closest method to Earth taking place a couple of hours later.
This equates to a roughly three-day viewing window for these within the northern hemisphere hoping to glimpse the comet, ought to it’s vivid sufficient, from 12 to 14 January. For folks in locations just like the US and Europe, one of the best time to see the comet shall be round half an hour earlier than dawn on 12 January, the place it must be seen with binoculars, about 5 levels above the solar or simply above the horizon. There must also be a second probability to see it round half an hour after sundown on 14 January.
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