Halloween Comet ATLAS (C/2024 S1) Meets Its Fiery End Near The Sun (VIDEO)

The comet C/2024 S1 (ATLAS), also known as the Halloween Comet, was briefly visible to skywatchers in early October but didn’t survive its close pass by the sun on 28 October. The European Space Agency and NASA’s SOHO mission captured its last moments on camera.

Comet ATLAS Comes Too Close To The Sun

The “Halloween Comet made its closest pass by Earth on 24 October before heading toward an exceptionally close encounter with the Sun on 28 October. Its perihelion (the closest point in its orbit) was just 1.2 million kilometres (750,000 miles) from the Sun, a distance that proved fatal. The comet was completely disintegrated, torn apart by the same sunlight that once formed its glowing tail.

“Unlike comet C/2023 A3, shown here, which never passed closer than about a third of Earth’s distance to the Sun, C/2024 S1 is a true sungrazer. It passed within 1% of Earth’s distance to the Sun, and has been completely vaporized as a result,” NASA wrote on X.

Sad Fate Of Haloween Comet

Astronomers anticipated the risk of destruction for Comet ATLAS (C/2024 S1), which belongs to the Kreutz family of sungrazing comets — fragments of a larger comet that broke apart centuries ago. First studied by Heinrich Kreutz in the 19th century, these comets often venture so close to the Sun that they rarely survive.

Although the Halloween comet seemed large enough to make it through and brighten significantly, it ultimately didn’t withstand the solar encounter.