Expert says it is possible to see the comet ATLAS flying to Earth without binoculars

Comet C/2024 G3 (ATLAS), which was discovered in 2024, will pass near the Sun on January 13. In case the celestial body will survive the approach, the inhabitants of the Earth will be able to consider it clearly even without the help of binoculars, said January 3, scientific director of the observatory Ka-Dar and astrofarm "Astroverta" Stas Korotky.

According to the specialist, the comet was discovered with the same telescope as the previous guest from space - comet C/2023 A3 Tzitzinshan-ATLAS. It was observed with the naked eye in October 2024.

"The observing conditions of this comet are worse than the one that visited us in the fall. The fact that it passes close to the Sun, four times closer than Mercury. If it survives - on the surface at such distances the temperature reaches thousands of degrees, the comet consists of ice," - quotes Korotkogo "RIA Novosti".

He added that if the comet survives the approach and will not vaporize, the brilliance from it will be noticeable at about the level of Venus, notes "Gazeta.Ru".

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Before that, in October 2024, the Russians captured the brightest comet for the last 13 years. The celestial body flew in 70 million kilometers from Earth, such a distance is considered the minimum. The event is extremely rare, as the path around the Sun object spends more than 80 thousand years. It is noted that the bright white tail is about 42 times larger than the disk of the full Moon. The celestial body could be seen in clear weather after sunset.