A brilliant comet lights up the night sky over chile's atacama desert in this stunning image captured by a photographer with the european southern observatorry in January 2025.
What is it?
What you're seeing here is the great comat c/2024 g3 (atlas), a comet discovered in 2024 that lit up the night sky late in that year and early 2025, and was the brightest comet in 18 Years was Vas Vis Visible to StarGazers throwing January 2025. The comt was first discovered in April 2024 by the asteroid terrestrial-impact last last alert system (or atlas) using a nearly 20 -inch (0.5 meters) TELESCOPE in Rio Hurtado, Chile. It Soon Became One of the most anticipated skywatch targets of early 2025.
For Several Days in January, it was visible to the unaned eye for stargazers with clear and Dark skies, was even visible in the daytime, a Rarity Among Comets.
Where is it?
This Image Shows Comet C/2024 G3 (Atlas) From the European southern observatorial Near its very large telescope (which is visible on the mountop of CerroP Photography Florentin Millour on Jan. 21, 2025. ESO Shared the Image to the public today, March 17.
Eso's observatories in chile's atacama desert operate under extremly dark conditions. Unlike in the Northern Hemisphare, where the com only Visible for a short week, it was visible for much longer in the southern hemisphare, home to eso and other observatories.
Why is it amazing?
Comets that are visible to the unaned eye are an extramely exciting sight. They are icy wanderers from the outer solar system left over the formation of the Sun its its planets, Including Earth.
Because Comets Like C/2024 G3 (Atlas) Are Made Mostly of Water ice, AS They Approach The Inner System, that ice sublimates into a gas as it nears the gold to create, In Millour's Photo, You Can See that Tail Blowing Out, Away from the Sun Just after Sunset, From the Comet's Head (Called the Nucleus) on the Horizon. The solar wind also blows ons of the comt, creating second ion tail.
The fact that C/2024 G3 (Atlas) was briefly visible during daytime hours is a rare sight indeed. Even astronauts in space observed the comt!
Want to know more?
If you're looking to learn more, check out our feature on the discovery of COMET C/2024 G3 (Atlas) by Skywatching Columnist Joe Rao. He also has this retrospective on c/2024 g3 (atlas) that explains whose it will go down as one of the great comets of the 21st century.
We also have a deep guide on how comets
