C/2024 G3 (ATLAS)

C/2024 G3 (ATLAS)
	Comet ATLAS photographed on 25 January 2025
Discovery
Discovered by	Tyler Linder
Discovery site	ATLAS–CHL (W68)
Discovery date	5 April 2024
Orbital characteristics
Epoch	Present: 16 June 2024 (JD 2460477.5); Inbound: 1 January 1800 (JD 2378496.5); Outbound: 1 January 2200 (JD 2524593.5)
Observation arc	267 days
Number of; observations	294
Aphelion	6,391 AU (Inbound); 14,234 AU (Outbound)
Perihelion	0.093 AU
Semi-major axis	3,196 AU (Inbound); 7,117 AU (Outbound)
Eccentricity	0.999970 (Inbound); 1.000013 (Present); 0.999987 (Outbound)
Orbital period	≈180,000 years (Inbound); ≈600,000 years (Outbound)
Inclination	116.851°
Longitude of; ascending node	220.331°
Argument of; periapsis	108.125°
Mean anomaly	–0.0003°
Last perihelion	13 January 2025
Earth MOID	0.483 AU
Jupiter MOID	3.837 AU
Physical characteristics
Comet total; magnitude (M1)	7.6
Comet nuclear; magnitude (M2)	12.4
Apparent magnitude	–3.8; (2025 apparition)

C/2024 G3 (ATLAS) is a partially disintegrated non-periodic comet, which reached perihelion on 13 January 2025, at a distance of 0.09 AU (13 million km) from the Sun. Dubbed the Great Comet of 2025, it is currently the brightest comet of 2025,^[6] with an apparent magnitude reaching −3.8 on the day of its perihelion.^[5] The comet was visible in the southern hemisphere before and after perihelion. It was only observed in the daytime sky around perihelion in the northern hemisphere.^[7]

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[MPEC_2024-H22-1] Cite error: The named reference MPEC_2024-H22 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).

[Yoshida_2024-2] Cite error: The named reference Yoshida_2024 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).

[Horizons-3] Cite error: The named reference Horizons was invoked but never defined (see the help page).

[jpl-4] Cite error: The named reference jpl was invoked but never defined (see the help page).

[cobs_2024g3-5] Cite error: The named reference cobs_2024g3 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).

[starwalk1-6] Cite error: The named reference starwalk1 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).

[discmag1-7] Cite error: The named reference discmag1 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).

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