Last Chance To See Comet G3 Atlas Over FL For Another 160,000 Years

FLORIDA — Skywatchers in Florida may have a few more chances to see what may be the brightest comet of the year before it disappears until many millennia into the future.

Comet Atlas C/2024 G3 reached perihelion — its closest point to the sun — on Monday. If it is as bright as some astronomers expect, it could outshine Venus. The comet should be visible just after dusk low in the southwest sky.

The National Weather Service predicted showers for Monday night. Partly sunny days with high temperatures in the 60s, and partly cloudy nights with lows in the 40s, were in the forecast.

Binoculars or a telescope will provide the best views, and the comet will become dimmer with each passing night. Stargazers should find the darkest sky possible and, because the comet won’t get high in the sky, at a place with an unobstructed view of the horizon.

These are top sky-watching spots in Florida, according to Space Tourism Guide:

• Alligator Alley
• Big Pine Key
• Chiefland Astronomy Village
• Doe Lake Campground
• Everglades National Park
• Fox Observatory at Markham Park
• From a Boat east of Miami
• Kirby Storter Roadside Park
• Kissimmee Prairie Preserve State Park
• Loxahatchee Refuge
• Myakka River State Park
• Pensacola Beach
• Sebastian Inlet
• St. George Island
• St. Joseph Peninsula State Park

Here’s what you need to know:

Did Comet Atlas Survive Sun’s Heat?

The comet’s close approach to Earth’s hot yellow star could be its demise. It could fragment or completely evaporate. Or, it could survive perihelion and come back around again until so far into the future that scientists can’t predict what civilization will look like.

Early observations are that Comet G3 Atlas survived its close encounter with the sun and is continuing an approximate 160,000-year orbit, according to The Planetary Society New research suggests that Comet G3 ATLAS has likely “survived at least one close approach to the Sun before.”

How Bright Is Comet Atlas?

Astronomers use an ancient magnitude scale to measure how bright a star, planet, asteroid or other object — or in this case a comet — looks from Earth. Magnitudes are expressed as negative numbers when they are exceptionally bright.

The lower the number, the brighter the object. For example, the brightest star in our solar system is 1st magnitude, the dimmest visible to the naked eye is 6th magnitude.

But comets are “intrinsically highly unpredictable objects” with brightness dependent on multiple conditions, according to In The Sky.

Some astronomers expect Comet Atlas to be the brightest in 20 years, with a magnitude of -3.2, which would make it as bright as Venus and Jupiter, which are prominent in the night sky during January. Another prediction calls for a magnitude around -4.5, which would rival Venus, while others say it will be so dim it won’t be distinguishable from the dimmest stars.

Heed This Warning

Remember those dire warnings ahead of 2024’s total solar eclipse not to look directly into the sun without certified solar eclipse eyewear? The same is true here.

Despite multiple reports that Comet G3 Atlas may shine bright enough to be seen in the daytime, don’t go looking for it, experts say. It is so close to the sun at this point in its orbit that scanning the sky for it could cause permanent eye damage in the same way as unprotected eclipse viewing.

It’s never safe to look directly at the sun. Wait until nightfall.