Comet C/2024 S1 (ATLAS), once expected to be a “Halloween gift” in the sky, officially disintegrated when it reached its closest position to the Sun in its orbit on October 28.
Initially, astronomers predicted that comet C/2024 S1 (ATLAS) could be bright enough to be seen with the naked eye. However, early signs of disintegration appeared at the beginning of October, signaling the brief fate of this distant icy body from the outskirts of the Solar System.
The Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO), a collaboration between NASA and the European Space Agency, captured the final moments of this comet.
Previously, on October 23, ATLAS passed by Earth at its closest distance, achieving a brightness of magnitude 8.7—too dim to be seen with the naked eye but still within the capabilities of powerful telescopes.
After passing Earth, ATLAS continued to approach the Sun, making observation with regular equipment increasingly difficult.
Discovered on September 27 by the Asteroid Terrestrial-impact Last Alert System (ATLAS) in Hawaii, C/2024 S1 (ATLAS) belongs to the Kreutz sungrazers, a group of comets with special orbits that bring them very close to the Sun every 500 to 800 years.
The Kreutz comet family is believed to be remnants of a large comet that disintegrated thousands of years ago. Historical records suggest that the first sungrazer comets appeared around 317 BC.
Comet ATLAS igniting as it approaches the Sun.
Like other comets, ATLAS is a “dirty snowball”, composed of gas, rock, and dust—primitive remnants from the formation of the Solar System 4.6 billion years ago.
Comets have varying orbital periods around the Sun, ranging from a few years to millions of years. For example, Halley’s Comet—one of the most famous comets—completes an orbit every 75 years, while Comet Encke takes only about 3.3 years.
Another comet, C/2023 A3 (Tsuchinshan-ATLAS), recently survived its close approach to the Sun on September 27 and shone brightly in the October sky, attracting the attention of astronomy enthusiasts worldwide.
