Comet C/2024 G3 Soaring over Paranal Observatory in Chile after Sunset
The Sun sets down at European Southern Observatory's Paranal Observatory and the sky is transformed from pale blue to red to black. The four 1.8-meter Auxiliary Telescopes from ESO's Very Large Telescope (VLT) open their domes to observe the night sky, as if they were welcoming its new visitor: Comet C/2024 G3. This feathered comet soared the skies of Chile's Atacama Desert in early 2025, leaving incredible images behind. As the night advances, the comet travels to the horizon together with the stars, but not all objects in the night sky follow this path. Like rain drops, the fast white strikes that inundate the night sky remind us of an increasing source of light pollution—satellite constellations.
Comets form from a nucleus of dust, water, and gas in the farthest-known regions of our Solar System.
Comet C/2024 G3 (ATLAS) may be one of the brightest comets to pass by Earth in 2025.
Comet C/2024 G3 was found by the automated Asteroid Terrestrial-impact Last Alert System (ATLAS) on April 5, 2024, in images obtained with a 0.5-m reflector telescope located in Río Hurtado, Chile. ATLAS is funded by NASA's Planetary Defense Office. ATLAS was developed and is operated by the University of Hawaii's Institute for Astronomy.
Video Credit: B. Häußler/ESO
Duration: 20 seconds
Release Date: Feb. 17, 2025
Release Date: Feb. 17, 2025
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