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.

NASA astronaut Don Pettit has snapped a striking shot of the super-bright comet racing past our planet for the first time in 160,000 years, as it lit up the night skies across the globe.

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.

Comet ATLAS G3 will be closest to the Sun on Jan. 13, 2025, but will mainly be visible only from the Southern Hemisphere.