© Andy Roberts 1997. Pictured comet is C/1995 O1 Hale-Bopp.

Comet C/2024 G3 (ATLAS) passes perigee

Dominic Ford, Editor
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The sky at

Comet C/2024 G3 (ATLAS) will make its closest approach to the Earth on 13 January, at a distance of of 0.94 AU.

From Ashburn on the day of perigee it will not be readily observable since it will be very close to the Sun, at a separation of only 5° from it.

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The events that comprise the 2024–2025 apparition of C/2024 G3 (ATLAS) are as follows:

Date Event
13 Jan 2025Comet C/2024 G3 (ATLAS) passes perigee
13 Jan 2025Comet C/2024 G3 (ATLAS) passes perihelion

The table below lists the times when C/2024 G3 (ATLAS) will be visible from Ashburn day-by-day through its apparition:

Date Constellation Comet visibility
23 Dec 2024ScorpiusNot observable
25 Dec 2024ScorpiusNot observable
27 Dec 2024ScorpiusNot observable
29 Dec 2024ScorpiusNot observable
31 Dec 2024ScorpiusNot observable
02 Jan 2025SagittariusNot observable
04 Jan 2025SagittariusNot observable
06 Jan 2025SagittariusNot observable
08 Jan 2025SagittariusNot observable
10 Jan 2025SagittariusNot observable
12 Jan 2025SagittariusNot observable
14 Jan 2025CapricornusNot observable
16 Jan 2025CapricornusNot observable
18 Jan 2025CapricornusNot observable
20 Jan 2025MicroscopiumNot observable
22 Jan 2025Piscis AustrinusNot observable
24 Jan 2025Piscis AustrinusNot observable
26 Jan 2025Piscis AustrinusNot observable
28 Jan 2025Piscis AustrinusNot observable
30 Jan 2025Piscis AustrinusNot observable
01 Feb 2025Piscis AustrinusNot observable

A more detailed table of C/2024 G3 (ATLAS)'s position on each night is available here. A diagram of the orbit of C/2024 G3 (ATLAS) is available here.

Finder chart

The chart below shows the path of C/2024 G3 (ATLAS) over the course of its apparition, as calculated from the orbital elements published by the Minor Planet Center (MPC). It is available for download, either on dark background, in PNG, PDF or SVG formats, or on a light background, in PNG, PDF or SVG formats. It was produced using StarCharter.

Comet brightnesses

Comets are intrinsically highly unpredictable objects, since their brightness depends on the scattering of sunlight from dust particles in the comet's coma and tail. This dust is continually streaming away from the comet's nucleus, and its density at any particular time is governed by the rate of sublimation of the ice in the comet's nucleus, as it is heated by the Sun's rays. It also depends on the amount of dust that is mixed in with that ice. This is very difficult to predict in advance, and can be highly variable even between successive apparitions of the same comet.

In consequence, while the future positions of comets are usually known with a high degree of confidence, their future brightnesses are not. For most comets, we do not publish any magnitude estimates at all. For the few comets where we do make estimates, we generally prefer the BAA's magnitude parameters to those published by the Minor Planet Center, since they are typically updated more often.

Based on the magnitude parameters published for this comet by the BAA Comet Section, we estimate that it may be around mag -2 on 13 January 2025. This estimate is based on observations that the BAA has received from amateur astronomers, assuming that its current level of activity will remain constant.

The comet's position at perigee will be:

Object Right Ascension Declination Constellation Magnitude
Comet C/2024 G3 (ATLAS) 19h43m50s 16°28'S Sagittarius -1.6

The coordinates are given in J2000.0.

The sky on 13 Jan 2025

The sky on 13 January 2025
Sunrise
07:25
Sunset
17:08
Twilight ends
18:43
Twilight begins
05:51

14-day old moon
Waning Gibbous

99%

14 days old

Planets
Rise Culm. Set
Mercury 06:28 11:08 15:47
Venus 09:47 15:24 21:01
Moon 16:45 00:34 08:18
Mars 17:04 00:37 08:09
Jupiter 13:57 21:15 04:34
Saturn 10:06 15:44 21:22
All times shown in EST.

Warning

Never attempt to point a pair of binoculars or a telescope at an object close to the Sun. Doing so may result in immediate and permanent blindness.

Source

This event was automatically generated on the basis of orbital elements published by the Minor Planet Center (MPC) , and is updated whenever new elements become available. It was last updated on 16 Sep 2024.

Image credit

© Andy Roberts 1997. Pictured comet is C/1995 O1 Hale-Bopp.

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