We have one comet we are watching now, and a new comet that has just been discovered is about to come into view.
This comet, known as Comet C/2024 S1, could become bright enough to see during the day. It could be the brightest one in 60 years.
Just five days ago, on Sept. 27, The Asteroid Terrestrial-impact Last Alert System, also called ATLAS, found a new comet.
ATLAS looks over the entire sky every day in hopes of not finding a dangerous asteroid heading toward Earth. On Friday, it did find a moving object that was identified as a newly discovered comet.
NASA says this comet will be a “sungrazer.” Sungrazer comets come very close to the sun. The close pass by the sun makes them very bright.
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“What’s cool about these sungrazer comets is that they have the potential to reach naked eye visibility if they survive their close approach to the sun,” said Mike Murray, planetarium manager and astronomer at Delta College. “In many cases, they end up breaking apart because of their volatile composition. It’s worth keeping track of what happens.”
Murray also says comets are notoriously hard to predict with respect to timing and brightness. Part of the difficulty in forecasting brightness is not knowing what will happen to the comet as it approaches the sun.
So, for now, it’s a best estimate as to when we will see the comet and the brightness of it.
When do we get to see if this new comet is spectacular?
Around Oct. 28 is when the comet will come closest to the sun. Before then, the comet will be visible in the Southern Hemisphere. After that, it should be visible to us in the Northern Hemisphere.
As Mike Murray says, we will have to wait to see if it’s bright enough to see during daylight.
It’s a new comet, so watch for updates here.