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• Comet C/2024 G3 (Atlas) is passing close to the Sun and likely to be visible in New Zealand skies later this month
• Comets such as this one are considered rare events, as they only pass through the inner solar system briefly before disappearing back into the depths of space.
• It comes as Mars nears its closest point to Earth in its orbit — meaning it may appear slightly bigger in our skies

Kiwis are soon likely to get a direct glimpse at a passing comet that’s already been making for stunning pictures.

Comet C/2024 G3 (Atlas) — considered one of the brightest in 20 years — is currently passing close to the Sun and is likely to be visible in our evening skies later this month.

Comets — large chunks of dust and ice that orbit the sun — like this one are considered rare events, as they only pass through the inner solar system briefly before disappearing back into the depths of space.

“This type of comet is one that’s new from what we call the Oort cloud, a population of comets at the edge of the solar system,” said Dr Michele Bannister of the University of Canterbury, whose Mt John Observatory helped identify C/2024 G3 last year.

“These live around 30 to 65,000 times further from the Sun than Earth does — so in that sense, any comet we see from that population is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

“They fall in, they come past, we get this brief moment of brilliance as the ices sublime off, and you get these glorious tails, and then it’s gone — you’ll never see it again in a human lifetime.”

Right now, she said the best way to see it would be through visualisations from the Soho spacecraft.

“They’re looking spectacular because you can see it’s just going at its closest approach to the Sun at the moment — and the tail is just absolutely flaming.”

From about January 23, Bannister said the comet would be positioned at about 16 degrees above the horizon, near the Sun.

To improve their chances of spotting it in the evening sky, she advises stargazers to use a sky visualisation app such as Sky Safari to help locate it on the horizon.

She also recommended using binoculars, as the comet would appear as a “small, charmingly fuzzy blob” rather than in the detailed images captured by the International Space Station.

It isn’t the for stargazers this month.

Mars will be at opposition on Thursday — meaning it’ll be at its closest point to Earth in its orbit.

“Another way to think about is that there is a straight line from the sun to Earth to Mars,” Stardome astronomer Rob Davison said.

“As it is at its closest point to Earth, Mars will appear at its biggest and brightest, meaning around this date is the best time to observe it.”

To the naked eye, it will appear as a relatively bright, star-like point of light near the constellation Gemini — but it will still be dimmer than Venus and Jupiter.

Through a telescope, an observer might be lucky enough to see some surface features, including its polar ice caps, Davison said.

“But as always, specific atmospheric conditions for a given time and location will have a major bearing on how clear any views may prove to be.”

Jamie Morton is a specialist in science and environmental reporting. He joined the Heraldin 2011 and writes about everything from conservation and climate change to natural hazards and new technology.