Observers have already spotted a comet that could be the brightest of the year with the use of binoculars. Currently just a tiny fleck of light sputtering in space, the newly discovered comet is expected to grow brighter in the coming days.
As Comet ATLAS C/2024 G3 traverses its gargantuan 160,000-year orbit to reach perihelion—its point nearest to the sun—astronomers expect it could become the brightest comet of 2025.