Comet Breaks Apart After Flying Close to Sun on Halloween

A comet that had been eagerly anticipated by some sky watchers to make an appearance during Halloween week has unfortunately broken apart before the spooky holiday arrived.

NASA confirmed on Tuesday that its spacecraft observing the sun captured the moment when Comet Atlas fragmented into pieces this week while passing near the sun.

Astronomers have been monitoring the comet, also known as C/2024 S1 or the Halloween comet, since it was first spotted in September by a telescope in Hawaii.

As it approached the sun, a space observatory jointly operated by NASA and the European Space Agency witnessed its disintegration.

This comet is believed to be a member of a comet family that comes very close to the sun.