A comet brighter than Venus is approaching Earth: will it be visible in France?

After delighting astronomy enthusiasts in October 2024, the famous “comet of the century” moved away from Earth, and will probably never return. But on January 13, 2025, a new comet will cross our sky. It will be located approximately 13.5 million kilometers from the Sun, which it already approached 160,000 years ago, according to Futura. For comparison, Mercury, the closest planet to the Sun, is approximately 58 million kilometers from the Sun.

Will we be able to see comet C/2024 G3 from France on January 13, 2025?

Unfortunately, this spectacle will be reserved for inhabitants of the southern hemisphere, who will even be able to see it in broad daylight. However, the comet will then be very close to the sun, so you should absolutely not try to see it with the naked eye, at the risk of damaging your eyes.

The most daring astronomy fans in France can still try to turn their telescopes towards the west, to the place where the sun sets, around January 13. However, you will need a sky that is perfectly clear of clouds as well as any light pollution.

The chances of seeing it in the northern hemisphere, where it will only be visible during the day, still remain rather low and will further reduce drastically from January 16.

Nicolas Biver, astrophysicist at the Paris observatory, even confided to our colleagues at Actu.fr that it will be necessary “to be very lucky”to hope to see comet C/2024 G3 from France.

Could comet C/2024 G3 be destroyed by the Sun?

Spotted by the Atlas system, just like Tsuchinshan-Atlas, comet C/2024 G3 has a priori no risk of colliding with the Earth. However, its unprecedented proximity to the Sun could potentially cause its outright destruction, with no celestial spectacle on the horizon.

On the other hand, if the celestial object survives, its icy core will heat up, to the point of producing a tail of dust and ice, visible from Earth. The comet will then shine with such intensity that it will even steal the show from Venus in the sky.

Scientists estimate that its magnitude will oscillate between -4 and -7, while Venus is around -4.3. Note that during its passage, in October 2024, comet Tsuchinshan-Atlas reached “only” magnitude -2.4. A magnificent celestial spectacle should therefore await keen observers in the southern hemisphere.