Comet C/2024 G3 (ATLAS) could very soon offer us an unforgettable spectacle in the sky.
This year 2025 should be rather encouraging for astronomy enthusiasts: Mars observable with the naked eye, two eclipses visible from France, numerous northern lights… The program promises to be busy! After the shower of shooting stars at the beginning of the month, this time, it’s a comet which could well offer us a magical moment next Monday – if we’re lucky.
Discovered last April by an observatory located in Chile, C/2024 G3 (ATLAS) comes from the Oort Cloud, a region rich in comets located at the edge of the solar system. It is a ball of rock and ice that travels through space leaving behind a large luminous trail caused by the release of gas and dust under the effect of solar radiation. Monday January 13, it will be closest to our planet, offering us a golden opportunity to admire it. It is at sunset around 5 p.m. above the southwest horizon that it will be easiest to observe with the naked eye or with binoculars… In theory.
Indeed, there is a catch: if you look up on this date, you might as well be disappointed to see nothing! Because the comet will not necessarily survive its passage near the Sun in the coming days. The heat from the latter could cause it to heat up and dislocate it before we even see it. And if it survives this, its position in the sky could be another problem since it will be right next to the Sun whose brightness could completely obscure the comet. In short, it’s double or nothing: you will therefore have to benefit from a stroke of luck to see it. But if so, the show should be particularly unforgettable.
Even though the comet will be closest to Earth on Monday January 13, it may be possible to observe it in the following week as it moves away from the Sun, which will allow it to be more easily visible to the naked eye. You will therefore probably have another chance to see the comet around January 20. All that remains is to cross your fingers and watch the sky to hope to witness one of the most remarkable astronomical events of this year 2025.