A bright comet was spotted from the UAE sky in broad daylight

Today, the Seal Astronomical Observatory in Abu Dhabi photographed a comet from the UAE sky in broad daylight for the second day in a row, as part of the global follow-up to monitor and photograph a very bright comet appearing in the sky called “Atlas” (C/2024 G3).

The comet is now shining at a magnitude of negative 2.5, and it is expected that the interested public will be able to see it during the next few days with the naked eye as a bright comet in the west after sunset. It is believed that this comet will be the brightest comet in the sky in 2025.

The importance of monitoring lies in following up on the development of the comet during its passage near the sun, which happened yesterday, Monday, when it passed at a distance of 13.5 million km from the sun, and many comets disintegrate and vanish due to pressure and solar gravity at this close distance. Therefore, there is global interest in knowing whether the comet will be able to withstand Compression and cohesion. If it actually succeeds, it will be possible to see it in the west over the next few days after sunset as a bright comet.

It can be concluded from the attached image and a few other images that the comet is still coherent and was able to cross the perihelion without disintegrating. Given the comet’s proximity to the sun yesterday and today, it cannot be observed except during the day, as it rises and sets almost with the sun, and the comet passed at the closest distance from The Earth was also at a distance of 141 million km yesterday.