C/2024 G3 (ATLAS)

For other comets discovered by the Asteroid Terrestrial-impact Last Alert System, see Comet ATLAS.

C/2024 G3 (ATLAS)

Discovery
Discovered by	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	–8,568.366 AU
Eccentricity	1.00001
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
Physical characteristics
North pole declination	-43° 19’ 13”
Comet total magnitude (M1)	8.8
Comet nuclear magnitude (M2)	12.4

C/2024 G3 (ATLAS) is a non-periodic, Sun-skirter comet that is in the constellation Lupus as of November 2024. It will reach its perihelion on the 13th of January 2025 and could become visible to the naked eye. The comet at perihelion comes within 0.09 au from the sun, meaning it's not a Kreutz sungrazer, a family of comets that comes within 1 solar radi or closer to the Sun. Although not confirmed, it could become the brightest comet of 2025, reaching a potential apparent magnitude of -2.0. Judging by the orbit of the comet, it could be a new comet entering the Solar System for the first time and could disintegrate at perihelion. Its eccentricity is greater than one, meaning it could be ejected from the Solar System.

Observational History

The comet was discovered by the Atlas Astronomical Survey, on April 5th, 2024. The comet at the time was 4.64 AU (695.72 million kilometers) from the barycenter of the Solar System, and 4.38 AU (656.56 million kilometers) from the Earth, at an apparent magnitude of 18.99. In November, the comet was at a magnitude of 11.8, visible through professional telescopes with an aperture larger than 200mm (8 inches), in the constellation Lupus. The comet will move through the constellations of Scorpius and Ophiuchus in December, then move to Saggittarius during its perihelion passage. The comet will then move into the constellations of Capricornus and Pisces after its perihelion.