Once-in-a-160000-year comet G3 ATLAS could shine as bright as Venus next week. Here's what to expect.

Jan 9, 2025
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I observed Comet C/2024 G3 ATLAS on January 4, 5 and 9, from near Tucson AZ, around 0650 MST on all days, using Canon 10x42 IS image Stabilized binoculars.

The comet has brightened significantly and was fairly easy to find this morning (9 Jan) by using Mercury in combination with a planetarium program (ie, SkySafari) to estimate it's rising azimuth.

A short tail of perhaps ⅓ - ½⁰ was visible today. Unable so far to see it without optical aid.
 
Jan 9, 2025
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Photos showing Comet G3 ATLAS, taken on January 5 and 9, can be seen at this Dropbox link:


The photos are representative of the view I had thru 10x42 binoculars. They were taken with 80mm APO refractor and Canon 6D on a fixed tripod.

If you are able to see this comet, I'd like to hear about your observations!
 
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Jan 9, 2025
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Addendum to last post: download photos from Dropbox for best view; Web view versions appear to be compressed.
 
Jan 9, 2025
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Friday January 10 @ 0645 MST (1345 UTC) observation:
Comet much brighter, seen naked eye with certainty and difficulty. Easy in 10x42 binoculars in very bright background sky. Approx 0.5⁰ tail. Visible in binoculars until 0712 MST, which was 14 minutes before local sunrise.
 

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