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An ultra-rare comet will shine in Melbourne's skies this week, visible for the first time in 160,000 years

This celestial sight will be one of the brightest comets in nearly two decades

Melissa Woodley
Written by
Melissa Woodley
Travel & News Editor, Time Out Australia
A comet streaking through a night sky at sunset.
Photograph: Lukas Vanatko/Unsplash
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Turn your eyes to the skies for an incredibly rare chance to see a special comet this week, which is set to be one of the brightest comets in recent history. Occurring just once every 160,000 years, comet C/2024 G3 (ATLAS) passed its closest point to the sun on January 13. Over the next few days, the rare comet will emerge from the sun’s glare, becoming visible across the Southern Hemisphere and shining across Australia's skies. So if you've always wanted to see a comet for yourself, this is genuinely a great opportunity to make that happen. 

When comet G3 reached its closest point to the sun, it flared up to an impressive magnitude of -3.4 — significantly brighter than Jupiter, which shines at a maximum magnitude of -2.8. This makes it one of the brightest comets witnessed in almost two decades.

From as early as January 16 or 17, comet G3 should start to become visible in the Southern Hemisphere. The best time to spot it in Australia will be shortly after sunset when it's positioned low on the western horizon. Initially, the comet will be quite close to the sun, making it tricky to spot. However, it will grow brighter as the days pass, before drifting too far from the sun that it becomes too faint to see. While binoculars will increase visibility, it’s important to take caution when using them, as the comet’s close proximity to the sun could cause harm to your eyes. 

You can check out if and when the comet will be visible from your location on timeanddate.com here. For a more detailed explanation of this celestial event from an astrophysics professor, check out this article

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