The comet, called C/2024 G3 Atlas, was discovered by the Asteroid Terrestrial-impact Last Alert System (Atlas) survey on April 5, 2024, in images obtained with a 0.5-m reflector telescope located in Río Hurtado, Chile.
At the time of discovery, it was so dim it needed a big telescope and powerful camera to spot it, but as it got closer to the sun, solar radiation blasted its icy surface, making it brighter.
In passing, there’s a caveat.
One of the world’s foremost observational astronomers, David Levy, wrote, "Comets are like cats: they have tails, and they do precisely what they want."
This cautionary note is a reminder that the viewing experience may not live up to expectations.
So, while prospects for viewing this comet look good at the time of writing, it may be a fizzer.
Comet Atlas reached perihelion (its closest point to the sun) on January 13 and is now heading outwards on a very elongated orbit which will bring it back into our vicinity in just over 450,000 years.
So if you miss it, your whānau will have to wait 22,500 generations to see it again!
This week’s chart has been drawn to show the sky an hour after sunset, by which time it should be dark enough to pick out the comet.
The comet, which may be about the same brightness as the planet Saturn, will be low in the southwestern sky.
Once it is dark enough to see Venus in the west, you can start looking for Comet Atlas.
As you can see, over the next three weeks, the comet will appear slightly higher in the sky each night. Tonight, for example, the comet is just 2° above the horizon an hour after the sun sets.
By January 22 (which happens to be my birthday!) Comet Atlas will be more than eight degrees above the horizon.
