After the sighting of the Quadrantids on January 3, another spectacle arrives in the sky: On January 13, comet C/2024 G3 (ATLAS) will reach perihelion, the point in its orbit closest to the Sun. This same day we will see it closer to Earth, so it could become the brightest comet of the entire year 2025, a year in which no other comet is expected to shine before our eyes. The best view will occur from the southern hemisphere; here are all the details.
The brightest comet
The Asteroid Terrestrial-impact Last Alert System (ATLAS) telescope system discovered it on April 5, 2024, when it was at magnitude 19 and 4.4 astronomical units from Earth. C/2024 G3 comes from the Oort Cloud, a remote region of the outer Solar System that contains the remains of its formation. It is expected to reach perihelion on January 13, placing itself in the constellation of Sagittarius. When this happens, it will be four times closer to the Sun than Mercury.; which orbits the star at a distance of 47 million kilometers. According to calculations released by the Planetary Society, the comet could reach a brightness of magnitude -4.5, approximately the same as Venus and is likely to be visible to the naked eye, but only to those in the southern hemisphere.
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Nevertheless, Its unusually close trip to the Sun is causing a debate among the scientific community, which disputes its survival. Although its orbital trajectory suggests that this is not its first expedition around the Sun; the last being 160,000 years ago, the hypothesis suggests that “it will get very hot and may not survive.” “If it does, it could be an impressive object in the night sky from the southern hemisphere after perihelion,” says Nick James, director of the comet section of the British Astronomical Association.
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How to watch the show?
If it succeeds and passes its perihelion unscathed, the comet will probably be as bright as Venus and visible from the southern hemisphere to the west, just after sunset on January 13. However, James stresses that due to its proximity to the Sun, looking directly at it could be dangerous and “should only be observed if you are an experienced observer.”
There will also be interference from the light of the Moon, which will be in its waning phase, which could make observations a little difficult. The comet’s orbital configuration makes observation difficult for those in the northern hemisphere; However, observations can be attempted in early January, just before sunrise. If you don’t want to miss the show, you can consult the images of the Lasco C3 coronagraph of the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory, or the database Comet Observation (COBS).
Article originally published in WIRED Italy. Adapted by Alondra Flores.
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