Get ready for the 'New Year Comet': What to expect from Comet ATLAS (C/2024) G3

Comet streaking through the starry sky. It has a long white tail. The milky way stretches through the center of the composite image.

In the second week of 2025, we could see a new object grace the skies as comet ATLAS (C/2024) G3 gets close to the sun.

In the wake of comet C/2023 A3 (Tsuchinshan–ATLAS) in October, comet G3 is due to reach perihelion — its closest to the sun — on Jan. 13, 2025. That day, this icy visitor to the inner solar system will get to within just 8.3 million miles (13.5 million kilometers) from the sun.