‘Halloween comet’ breaks apart after flying close to the Sun

Comet Atlas, nicknamed the Halloween comet, approaching its closest to the Sun, as seen in this real-time image from Nasa’s orbiting Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (Nasa via AP)

A recently discovered comet that some stargazers had hoped to see during Halloween week has disintegrated before the day of ghosts and ghouls.

Nasa confirmed on Tuesday that its Sun-observing spacecraft captured the moment when the comet Atlas broke into chunks this week as it passed close to the Sun.

Astronomers have been tracking the so-called Halloween comet, also known as C/2024 S1, since it was discovered in September by a telescope in Hawaii.

As it raced towards the Sun, a space observatory operated by Nasa and the European Space Agency spied its demise.

The comet is thought to be part of a family of comets that pass incredibly close to the Sun.