'This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity', space researchers excited about rare comet coming today

By: 600011 On: Jan 13, 2025, 9:10 AM

 

 

Santiago: Skywatchers will not get such an opportunity again. Today is the chance to see the brightest comet in the last two decades. A rare comet that occurs only once every 160,000 years will make a celestial spectacle today. Comets are space objects that orbit the Sun and display a part that looks like a coma or tail. Comet G3 Atlas (C/2024) is the closest to the Sun today (Perihelion).

Space researchers explain that Comet G3 Atlas may surpass the brightness of the planets Jupiter and Venus, which are currently visible from Earth. Comet G3 was discovered by the ATLAS telescope in Chile on April 5, 2024. It was 655 million kilometers from Earth when it was discovered. The comet was at magnitude +19, which is too old to be discovered. Comet G3 ATLAS takes about 160,000 years to orbit the Sun. With such a long orbit, we can't even imagine when we will see this comet again. That's why today's sky view is a rare wonder. Comet G3 ATLAS, visible today, will be a once-in-a-lifetime experience for skywatchers.

Comet G3 Atlas will pass just 8.7 million miles from the sun on January 13. Earth orbits the sun at a distance of ten times that. Comets do not usually come this close to the sun. Therefore, there is a doubt whether this comet will survive the sun. Comet G3 will also shine brighter because it will come so close to the sun. But Comet G3 Atlas will be difficult to see with the naked eye. However, space scientists are observing Comet G3 Atlas with the help of telescopes.