Atlas…a comet will shine in the UAE sky in the coming days

The International Astronomy Center confirmed, in a statement today, that the UAE sky will witness the appearance of a bright comet that can be seen with the naked eye after sunset in the west during the coming days.

The Director of the International Astronomy Center, Engineer Muhammad Shawkat Odeh, said that this comet is called “Atlas” and bears the number “C/2024 G3,” and it was discovered on April 5, 2024 by one of the observatories of the Atlas network located in the Republic of Chile, and it is likely that it will be This comet is the brightest during the year 2025, as its luminosity reached magnitude negative 3.5.

He added that when it was discovered, it was shining at magnitude 19, meaning that it could only be seen using large telescopes. In the middle of last December, its brightness increased and it became shining at magnitude 8, meaning that seeing it began to become possible using binoculars. As the comet approached the sun and the Earth, its brightness increased until it reached the closest approach. A point from the sun and the Earth last Monday, as it passed at a distance of 13.5 million km from the sun, and at that time it was shining at a magnitude of negative 3.5. This is a great brightness, and it was monitored and photographed in… Daylight through some ground telescopes, including the Al Khatam Astronomical Observatory located in the Abu Dhabi desert.

He stated that, from analyzing the images taken of the comet on Monday and Tuesday, it was possible to conclude that the comet is still cohesive and was able to cross the perihelion of the sun without disintegrating.

Due to the comet’s proximity to the sun during these two days, it could only be observed during the day, as it rose and set almost with the sun.

As of today, the comet’s height above the horizon after sunset will become somewhat appropriate, allowing the opportunity to see it with the naked eye.

It is noteworthy that the comet’s luminosity began to decrease as of the day before yesterday (Monday), and today (Wednesday) it shines at a magnitude of approximately negative 1.5. This keeps it an exceptional and relatively very bright comet, to the point that it may be seen with the naked eye after sunset and the twilight glow fades.

It is expected that the comet will remain visible with the naked eye in the west until approximately January 21, reaching magnitude 2.7 on that day.