A bright comet could be visible in skies around the world in the coming days for the first time in 160,000 years.
NASA said that the future brightness of comets is “notoriously difficult” to predict, but that Comet C/2024 G3 (Atlas) may remain bright enough to be seen with the naked eye.
On Monday, the comet was at perihelion, the point at which it is closest to the Sun, which affects how bright it will be. Experts say it could be visible from Monday evening.
Although the exact locations for possible visibility are unknown, experts believe that the comet, which could shine like Venus, would be best viewed from the southern hemisphere.
Last year, the comet was spotted by NASA’s last-ditch warning system for an asteroid impact.
dr. Shyam Balaji, a researcher in astroparticle physics and cosmology at King’s College London, said that “current orbital calculations indicate that it will pass about 8.3 million miles from the Sun,” which classifies it as a comet “circling the Sun.”
The university described the comet as a once-in-160,000-year event.
dr. Balaji said opportunities to spot the comet may arise “in the days around perihelion, depending on local conditions and comet behavior.”
“As with all comets, its visibility and brightness can be unpredictable,” he added.
Mr Balaji said people living in the southern hemisphere – where the comet is predicted to be best viewed – should “look towards the eastern horizon before sunrise, [and] after the perihelion, try the western horizon after sunset.”
But Mr. Balaji added that while it is expected to be “quite bright,” comet brightness predictions are “notoriously uncertain,” with many ending up dimmer than originally predicted.
For the Northern Hemisphere – including the UK – observing could be challenging due to the comet’s relativity to the Sun.
You can check with BBC Weather online to see if the sky is clear enough to possibly see where you are.
Mr. Balaji advised people who want to spot the comet to find a place away from light pollution and use binoculars or a small telescope.
He warned watchers to be careful around sunrise and sunset and said they were tracking the comet’s position to find where it might appear in the sky.
Meanwhile, astronomers tracked the trajectory of the comet.
On Saturday, NASA astronaut Don Pettit shared a photo of the comet taken from the International Space Station on social media.
“Absolutely amazing to see a comet from orbit. Atlas C2024-G3 is visiting us,” he wrote.
