| Discovery | |
|---|---|
| Discovered by | T. Linder |
| Discovery site | ATLAS-W68 |
| Discovery date | 5 April 2024 |
| Orbital characteristics | |
| Epoch | 6 June 2024 (JD 2460467.5) |
| Observation arc | 206 days |
| Number of observations | 271 |
| Perihelion | 0.09 AU |
| Semi-major axis | 2,631 AU (inbound) 6,135 AU (outbound) |
| Eccentricity | 0.9999970 1.0000141 0.9999973 |
| Orbital period | 135,000 years (inbound) 450,500 years (outbound) |
| Inclination | 116.852° |
| Longitude of ascending node | 220.331° |
| Argument of periapsis | 108.127° |
| Next perihelion | 13 January 2025 |
| Earth MOID | 0.4826 AU |
| Jupiter MOID | 3.8373 AU |
| Comet total magnitude (M1) | 8.8 |
| Comet nuclear magnitude (M2) | 12.4 |
C/2024 G3 (ATLAS) is a long-period, sungrazing comet, which will reach perihelion on 13 January 2025, at a distance of 0.09 AU from the Sun. It could become the brightest comet of 2025, possibly exceeding apparent magnitude of −3.5. The comet is visible in the southern hemisphere before and after perihelion. It can only be observed in the daytime sky around perihelion in the northern hemisphere.
Observational history
The comet was discovered by the Asteroid Terrestrial-impact Last Alert System (ATLAS) survey on 5 April 2024, in images obtained with a 0.5-m reflector telescope located in Río Hurtado, Chile. The comet at the time was a magnitude 19 object about 4.38 AU (655 million km) from Earth. Further observations indicated it had a diffuse coma about 4.5 arcseconds across and a straight tail. At the time of discovery, it was assumed that this was a new comet from the Oort cloud, and with its very weak absolute magnitude (H=9), there was very little to no chance that it would survive perihelion. But as the orbit was refined it was found to be likely a dynamically old comet, having made close approaches to the Sun before.
By 30 October 2024, the comet had an apparent magnitude of 11.9 per reported observations at the Comet Observation Database (COBS), visible with large telescopes. By mid December 2024 it had brightened to 8th magnitude and was located in Scorpius, visible at dawn in the southern and equatorial regions. By the end of the month, its magnitude was reported to be between 5 and 5.5, having a coma about two arcminutes across and a tail up to 18 arcminutes long.
On 2 January 2025, Terry Lovejoy reported that the comet experienced an outburst, estimating its magnitude to be 3.7 photographically and 3.2 visually. On 3 January the comet had brightened to a magnitude of 2–2.4. The comet was reported to have a nuclear shadow, a dark lane in the tail, and was marginally visible with naked eye on that day.
In case of this comet, it is very difficult to predict peak brightness (spread more than 10 mag). G. van Buitenen predicts −4 magnitude, accounting for forward scattering, however it will be just 5 degrees from Sun at peak magnitude. After perihelion the comet heads southwards, while in mid northern latitudes will be low, being 2 degrees above the horizon at the end of the civil twilight.
References
- ^ T. Linder (18 April 2024). "MPEC 2024-H22 : Comet C/2024 G3 (ATLAS)". www.minorplanetcenter.net. Minor Planet Center. Retrieved 16 November 2024.
- S. Yoshida. "C/2024 G3 (ATLAS)". www.aerith.net. Retrieved 12 November 2024.
- "C/2024 G3 (ATLAS) – JPL Small-Body Database Lookup". ssd.jpl.nasa.gov. Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Retrieved 12 November 2024.
- "C/2024 G3 (ATLAS): Brightest Comet of 2025?". StarWalk. 14 June 2024.
- A. Hurt (16 November 2024). "Missed the Comet C/2023 A3? Don't Worry, Here are Other Comets to Look For". Discover Magazine. Retrieved 19 November 2024.
- M. Mattiazzo. "2024G3". Southern Comets Homepage. Retrieved 19 November 2024.
- "Unveiling Comet C/2024 G3 (ATLAS): A Bright Celestial Wanderer To See In 2025". Orbital Today. 21 June 2024. Retrieved 19 November 2024.
- "ALPO Comet News for NOV 2024" (PDF). www.alpo-astronomy.org. Association of Lunar and Planetary Observers. Retrieved 18 November 2024.
- ^ "Observation list for C/2024 G3". COBS – Comet OBServation database. Retrieved 14 November 2024.
- ^ B. King (18 December 2024). "Comet ATLAS (C/2024 G3) Kicks off the New Year — What to Expect". Sky & Telescope. Retrieved 22 December 2024.
- T. Lovejoy (3 January 2025). "C/2024 G3 in outburst? - Jan 2.76, 2025 UT". Groups.io. Retrieved 4 January 2025.
- Green, Daniel (4 January 2025). "COMET C/2024 G3 (ATLAS)". Central Bureau for Astronomical Telegrams (5488).
- G. van Buitenen. "C/2024 G3 (ATLAS)". astro.vanbuitenen.nl. Retrieved 15 November 2024.
External links
- C/2024 G3 at the JPL Small-Body Database
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