New Comet ATLAS S1 Could Appear in the Sky Within Days

2024-10-21 2024-10-21T11:09:05Z

Arab Weather - Dr. Ammar Al-Sakaji, head of the Jordanian Astronomical Society, said about the discovery of a new comet called Comet Atlas C/2024 S1 , and this comet will be as bright as the planet Venus and can be seen in broad daylight in the coming days, but there is a possibility that it will disintegrate and disappear when it approaches the perihelion region in its orbit, so it was called the "all or nothing" comet, and if the comet's nucleus does not disintegrate, it will be an exceptional event, but there is no confirmation yet indicating that the comet has disintegrated, but it is possible that the nucleus will be destroyed and it will disappear, and if this comet disintegrates, its fragments can be seen, at the present time it can be "seen with telescopes" as it is located in the constellation of Al-Batiya (Al-Ma'alif) Crater, which means "the big cup" as mentioned by Al-Sufi, and it is one of the constellations of the southern hemisphere of the Earth, as for observers in the northern hemisphere, it is located at the lowest level on the eastern horizon in the morning.

Comet S1 is classified as a non-periodic comet, and the current distance between the comet and Earth is approximately 133 million kilometers, and its current magnitude is approximately 9, and this number is subject to change in the coming days, and the closest it can get to Earth will be on Thursday, October 24, and it will be at a distance of 131 million kilometers.

Comet S1 will reach its closest point to Earth on Thursday, October 24, rising at 6:06 AM Jordan time from the east, about 41 minutes before sunrise. It will need a telescope to observe it. After that, and during the following days, it will shine significantly, especially from the 24th to the 28th of this month. It may become visible to the naked eye before sunrise, but "the sun's glare may hinder its proper observation," as it approaches the sun every morning. This comet is called "apparently touching the sun" because it may become very bright at perihelion and appear close to it, but this will only be for a very short period.

Comet S1 Visibility Criteria

Because Comet S1 will be so close to the Sun on October 28, we do not recommend viewing it without standard eclipse glasses or telescopes equipped with solar-safe filters, as looking at the Sun can cause serious eye damage.

Some theoretical studies indicate that the comet on Monday, October 28, will be at the perihelion point, and may reach negative magnitudes, meaning brighter than the planet Venus or any celestial body except the moon and the sun. It may be a daytime comet, but the sun's glare may hinder its observation, in addition to the possibility of its nucleus disintegrating. This comet is located on this day in the constellation Virgo, where the comet rises at 6:52 AM Jordan time, almost simultaneously with sunrise.

Comet ATLAS S1 was discovered a few weeks ago on September 27 by the Automated Sky Survey (ATLAS) in Hawaii. Comets in general are notoriously unpredictable, and their observations can be frustrating.