C/2024 G3 (ATLAS)

(Updated: 2025-01-10)

This hyperbolic, sunskirting, retrograde comet was discovered on Apr. 5, 2024, 6:19:43.3344 UT (2° Cap 00'29.72" Rx) at the observatory W68-ATLAS Chile, Rio Hurtado, the first discovery there of any object in our Master List.  At discovery it was 43° above the horizon in the east located in the constellation Apus, “the Bird of Paradise.”  It will reach perihelion on Jan. 13, 2025, 10:23:42.44 UT (24° Cap 27'30.17") at .9400712258 au (or, 140,632,653.69 km) from the Sun, according to the current orbital solution on Jan. 2 here. Its perigee, closest distance from Earth, will occur shortly after, same day, 22:22:28.315 UT (27° Cap 13'55.57") at 0.9371336 au (or, 140,193,191.24 km). This comet has traveled from afar for many thousands of years with no orbital period known, most likely its first rendezvous with our Sun just like for C/2023 A3 (Tsuchinshan-ATLAS).  That perihelion on Sep. 27 was, however, at 0.3914134 au (58,546,130 km) from our Sun, about 4 times further away than for the sunskirter.

For comparison, the two interstellar comets 1I/'Oumuamua’s perihelion on Sep. 9, 2017, was further away at 0.256050348 au (or, 38,406,029 km), and 2I/Borisov’s on Dec. 8, 2019, was much further at 2.00652332 au (or, 300,171,617 km).  The 2020 comets SWAN and NEOWISE were also further at 0.43042399 au and 0.29465123 au, respectively, and C/2019 Y4 (ATLAS), about the same distance as 'Oumuamua’s perihelion, broke up into several pieces at 0.25291148 au (or, 37,835,008 km) on May 31, 2020.  On Nov. 28, 2013, the sungrazing Oort cloud comet C/2012 S1 (ISON) also did not survive at 0.0124562 au (or, 1,863,410 km), according to Wikipedia.  C/2024 G3’s distance from the Sun is 14,020,188.95 km, much further away though, than the “Imposter” comet C/2024 S1 who dared to compete with Sol and lost - disappeared forever Oct. 28!  We feel differently about this one.

Many astrologers are interested in comets as “messengers” or “harbingers” presaging events of mundane and societal significance, from natural disasters to riots, wars, assassinations of prominent kings or tyrants, death and so on, to even benefic times, perhaps, the arrival of an Avatar or Messiah.  These are, of course, ancient views of these “messengers,” but I think we should look at them, especially if from the Oort Cloud and beyond like this one and the others - C/2023 A3 (Tsuchinshan-ATLAS), A2017 U1 ('Oumuamua), C/2020 F3 (NEOWISE), the prograde C/2019 Q4 (Borisov), etc. - as psychological, otherworldly or spiritual projections in imminent manifestation on the physical plane, and we should follow them as close as we can in natal and mundane charts.

It might be a possibility that the forerunner, or what might be deemed the “John the Baptist comet,” i.e., C/2023 A3 (Tsuchinchan-ATLAS), is announcing C/2024 G3 (ATLAS) as the Grand Messenger, symbolic of the “Messiah to come,” if you will. Remember in C/2023 A3’s discovery chart, the Meridian 1st House cusp (9° Cap 43'44") was exactly conjunct Chiron’s Moon (9° Cap 44'58") at that most important discovery on Oct. 18, 1977, with Chiron exactly conjunct C/2023 A3’s 4th House cusp, as mentioned here. 

So, we present here the discovery chart to begin that journey of exploration – a list of 735 specially-chosen objects retrieved in real time from the gold-standard JPL Horizons API, an Astrolog chart wheel implementing those calculations, including the apparent/natural Moon’s nodes and apogee (“Lil” in the sidebar) with 42 extras, and the most beautiful aspect grid in the industry!  For the cost of a one-year ephemeris, we have available a daily 2024-2025 Noon or Midnight Greenwich Ephemeris of C/2024 G3 here, the most accurate and precise ephemeris you’ll find anywhere! As updated epoch solutions appear, we’ll update this post and ephemeris.

Notice the nodes and apogee are definition-based events that occurred prior to discovery, treated similarly to the New Moon, the VSP or LSP that astrologers might insert into a chart as significant indicators of the event or birth.  None of the nodes or apsides move forward or backward; they’re simply events, just like C/2024 S1’s disappearance on Oct. 28.

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The sidebar list is in this order (karmic asteroids in black and C/2024 G3 (ATLAS) in red):

2010EN65, Sedna, Nemesis, Asmodeus, Taguacipa, Garuda, C/2013 C2 (Tenagra), Karma, Izhdubar, Isis, Atropos, Werdandi, Lachesis, Klotho, Lucifer, Typhon, Izanaki, Osiris, Quetzalcoatl, Orius, Aruna, Skuld, Urda, LILITH, Yamatano-orochi, Apollo, Pandora, Mithra, IZANAMI, Huitzilopochtli, APOPHIS, C/2024 G3 (ATLAS), Ahau, Psyche, 2002XW93, Tukmit, Horus, Zeus, Hera, HERACLES, Hebe and Tomaiyowit.
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PDF of the 735 objects:
C/2024 G3 (ATLAS) - Ecliptic coordinates - Long. sort
(free for paid subscribers)
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Additional reading:
1 - C/2024 G3 (ATLAS) | astro.vanbuitenen.nl
2 - Comet C/2024 G3 (ATLAS) (Taras Prystavski) - AstroBin
3 - Comet 2025 | Comet ATLAS 2025 | Next Comet Visible From Earth 2025 | Star Walk
4 - Comet C/2024 G3 (ATLAS): How bright will it get? - CometWatch
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Geocentric/Tropical/Meridian

Triangular Aspect Grid