Comet ATLAS brightens as it nears the Sun, providing scientists with valuable data on solar wind interactions and offering a rare celestial spectacle.

In the photo from the space station, the comet is captured just above Earth’s horizon, which is illuminated by a bright light — also known as airglow — that occurs in the planet’s upper atmosphere when atoms and molecules emit light after being excited by sunlight.

Astronaut Don Pettit took this stunning photo of a nearby comet from the International Space Station

In a race against time, clouds and the setting sun, photographer Josh Dury captured this dramatic photograph of Comet C/2024 G3 (ATLAS) at dusk on Jan. 15.

G3 (ATLAS) did it! It survived its perilous perihelion, getting ten times closer to the Sun than Earth does. This comet is a sungrazer comet, and the encounter made it bright – so bright that even at a considerable distance,