The dazzlingly bright Sun has been blocked out at the center of these images from the SOHO spacecraft, which is part of an international collaboration between the European Space Agency (ESA) and NASA.
A Bright Comet for the Southern Hemisphere?
Skywatchers in the Southern Hemisphere are keeping a careful watch on the “sunskirter” comet C/2024 G3 (ATLAS), which might be the brightest comet of 2025.
How Visible Will C/2024 G3 (ATLAS) Become?
“It’s difficult to say for sure because it will depend a lot on what happens at perihelion,” Terry Lovejoy, a leading comet hunter based in Australia, told mungfali.galihkartiwa07.workers.dev on January 10.
“We are hoping it continues to brighten and develop, which in turn would see a significant tail develop. It’s really wait and see to be honest, since the comet has already shown some unexpected changes in brightness—which is part of the fun of following comets.
“If the comet does indeed develop well, I would expect the best views of the comet would occur perhaps from January 22 until the end of the month. It will be located just above the west-southwest horizon in the evening an hour after the sun has set.
“A good unobstructed west horizon will be mandatory, and a pair of binoculars would be useful in locating it.”
Michael Mattiazzo took this photo of C/2024 G3 (ATLAS) in the pre-dawn sky over Swan Hill, Victoria, Australia, on January 3, 2025.
©Michael Mattiazzo
A Morning Comet, Then an Evening Comet
Before January 13, C/2024 G3 (ATLAS) might be visible from the Southern Hemisphere close to the eastern horizon before sunrise.
Find comet C/2024 G3 (ATLAS) on our Night Sky Map
According to reports from observers, the comet started to become very faintly visible to the naked eye, under good viewing conditions, around January 3.
After January 13, C/2024 G3 (ATLAS) might be visible close to the western horizon after sunset—again, from the Southern Hemisphere.
For skywatchers in the Northern Hemisphere, the comet will likely not be visible.
The brightness of comets is notoriously hard to predict, and comets can be destroyed altogether as they pass close to the Sun.
Thanks to Rob Kauffman, who took this photo of C/2024 G3 (ATLAS) on the morning of January 8, 2025, from Mount Porepunkah in the high country of Victoria, Australia.
©Rob Kauffman
How Close Is Close?
Sunskirter comets pass close to the Sun, although not quite as close as sungrazers.
Perihelion distances are often given in astronomical units (au), where 1 au is equal to Earth’s average distance from the Sun.
At perihelion, the distance of C/2024 G3 (ATLAS) from the Sun will be 0.09 au, making it a sunskirter. Sungrazer comets pass within around 0.01 au of the Sun.
ATLAS: Have We Heard That Name Before?
C/2024 G3 (ATLAS) was discovered on April 5, 2024, by a robotic system of telescopes called the Asteroid Terrestrial-impact Last Alert System, or ATLAS for short.
The ATLAS team has discovered around 100 comets, which is why the name might seem familiar.
For example, you may remember C/2023 A3 (Tsuchinshan-ATLAS), which dazzled skywatchers in October last year. Or C/2024 S1 (ATLAS), which disintegrated as it reached perihelion.
What Are the Rules for Comet Names?
The name C/2024 G3 (ATLAS) is based on a set of rules from the International Astronomical Union.
- C/ refers to a non-periodic comet. This means the comet hasn’t been observed before, and its orbital period (the amount of time it takes to complete one orbit around the Sun) is greater than 200 years. The orbital period of C/2024 G3 (ATLAS) runs into hundreds of thousands of years.
- 2024 is the year the comet was discovered.
- G indicates the half-month it was discovered—in this case, the first half of April. The first half of January is “A,” the second half of January is “B,” the first half of February is “C,” and so on. The letter “I” is skipped to avoid confusion with the number “1.”
- 3 means it was the third comet discovered in that half-month.
- ATLAS is the name of the team that made the discovery.