After green comet, we may see another exceptionally bright comet in 2024

If we are lucky, we might be treated to an exceptionally bright comet in the sky in 2024.

An exceptionally bright "green comet" was visible in the night sky earlier this year. (Image credit: Dan Bartlett, NASA)

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We were treated to a rare celestial event earlier this year when the “green comet” passed through the solar system. Now, there is a possibility that we could get to see an exceptionally bright comet in the night sky in 2024, according to various reports.

BBC’s Sky at Night magazine reports that a comet called C/2023 A3 (Tsuchinshan-ATLAS) might appear in the night sky in 2024, and could even end up being brighter than the green comet ever was. Of course, comets are fickle celestial objects and there is no assurance that this will actually happen. But if optimistic predictions are to be believed, this could be the best comet appearance in a long time.

As per a report by Space.com, the comet was discovered by the Asteroid Terrestrial-impact Last Alert System (ATLAS) in South Africa on February 22 this year. It was originally identified as an asteroid, but astronomers later discovered that it was the same object that was discovered six weeks earlier by the Purple Mountain Observatory in China.

Also read | Green comet comes closest to earth, stargazers and space enthusiasts thrilled

After the Purple Mountain observations, the Zwicky Transient Facility in California independently captured images of the comet on December 22 last year. The International Astronomical Union’s Minor Planet Centre (MPC) gave it its official name, COMET C/2023 A3 (Tsuchinshan-ATLAS), on February 28.

According to Universe Magazine, optimistic brightness forecasts of the comet give it an apparent maximum brightness of -1 stellar magnitude. This should mean that the brightness of the comet could be nearly as bright as Sirius, which is the brightest star in the night sky. Based on preliminary calculations, the best time to observe the star in the Northern Hemisphere will be between October 12 and October 20.

At the time of writing, the comet is between the orbits of Jupiter and Saturn, and it will reach its perihelion, or the point in its orbit where it is closest to the Sun on September 28, 2024. Currently, it is so faint that only the most powerful telescopes on the planet can actually observe it.

But in September 2024, it could potentially become bright enough to be visible through just binoculars or maybe even to the naked eye.

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