Seeing Comet C/2024 G3 (ATLAS) from Australia (perhaps)

Comet watchers are ready anxiously to see if Comet C/2024 G3 (Atlas) will survive its perihelion passage on the Solar on the thirteenth of January. We’ve got already seen comet C/2024 G3 (Atlas) vaporise, so there may be some chance C/2024 G3 (Atlas) is not going to make it.

If it does, how brilliant it’s going to develop into continues to be unsure, with the Minor Planet & Comet Ephemeris Service’s prediction suggesting a peak magnitude of around  -1.4, abut some others suggesting it’s going to develop into as bright as magnitude -4. 

We should wait and see what occurs, for Australia, the soonest we will see the comet come out from the glare of the solar (until it turns into exceptionally brilliant), is the sixteenth, low within the twilight. Extra seemingly we should wait till the twentieth, when the fading comet climbs into darker skies. However it doesn’t matter what, you will have a transparent degree western horizon, just like the ocean, to see it on these dates.

Black and white printable spotters map to assist with discovering the comet. Venus and Saturn are good signposts to the placement of the comet. The magnitudes listed are the present ones from the MPC. It may be brighter OR disintegrate fully. Click on to embiggen and print.

Labels: binocular, C/2023 G3, comet, unaided eye

# posted by Ian Musgrave @ 11:40 pm