Thursday, January 09, 2025
Seeing Comet C/2024 G3 (ATLAS) from Australia (maybe)
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| Comet C/2024 G3 (Atlas) as may be seen at civil twilight, 30 minutes after sunset (21:00 ACDST) for Adelaide on the 16th of January 2025. (similar views will be seen elsewhere in Australia 30 minutes after sunset click to embiggen) | Comet C/2024 G3 (Atlas) as may be seen at civil twilight, 30 minutes after sunset (21:00 ACDST) for Adelaide on the 18th of January 2025. (similar views will be seen elsewhere in Australia 30 minutes after sunset click to embiggen) | Comet C/2024 G3 (Atlas) as may be seen at civil twilight, 30 minutes after sunset (21:00 ACDST) for Adelaide on the 20th of January 2025. (similar views will be seen elsewhere in Australia 30 minutes after sunset click to embiggen) |
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| Comet C/2024 G3 (Atlas) will have set by the time nautical twilight occurs 60 minutes
after sunset on the 16rg. | Comet C/2024 G3 (Atlas) as may be seen at nautical twilight, 60 minutes after sunset (21:35 ACDST) for Adelaide on the 18th of January 2025. (similar views will be seen elsewhere in Australia 60 minutes after sunset click to embiggen) | Comet C/2024 G3 (Atlas) as may be seen at nautical twilight, 60 minutes after sunset (21:35 ACDST) for Adelaide on the 16th of January 2025. (similar views will be seen elsewhere in Australia 60 minutes after sunset click to embiggen) |
Comet watchers are waiting anxiously to see if Comet C/2024 G3 (Atlas) will survive its perihelion passage on the Sun on the 13th of January. We have already seen comet C/2024 G3 (Atlas) vaporise, so there is some likelihood C/2024 G3 (Atlas) will not make it.
If it does, how bright it will become is still uncertain, with the Minor Planet & Comet Ephemeris Service's prediction suggesting a peak magnitude of around -1.4, abut some others suggesting it will become as bright as magnitude -4.
We will have to wait and see what happens, for Australia, the soonest we can see the comet come out from the glare of the sun (unless it becomes exceptionally bright), is the 16th, low in the twilight. More likely we will have to wait until the 20th, when the fading comet climbs into darker skies. But no matter what, you will need a clear level western horizon, like the ocean, to see it on these dates.
Labels: binocular, C/2023 G3, comet, unaided eye
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