Watch the 'Halloween comet' ATLAS burn up as it flies into the

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Comet C/2024 S1(ATLAS)disappears.

On Monday(Oct. 28 ), the comet vaporized as it was heading towards perihelion, the closest indicate the sun in its orbit. There were earlier hopes that the comet, formally designated C/2024 S1(ATLAS), might end up being a “Halloween treat” noticeable to the naked eye, however these were eventually simply wishful thinking; astronomers had actually currently started observing the cosmic snowball starting to break down previously this month.

Now, thanks to the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO), a spacecraft collectively run by NASA and the European Space Agency, we understand for sure how and when comet ATLAS satisfied its death.

An animation revealing the last minutes of Comet C/2024 S1 (ATLAS )as it flew towards the sun on Oct. 28, 2024. (Image credit: ESA/NASA SOHO)

Comet C/2024 S1 (ATLAS)passed its closest indicate Earth on Oct. 23, reaching a magnitude of 8.7, far too dim to be seen with the naked eye. Still, telescopes had the ability to see the icy visitor from the external planetary system.

After that method, the comet started flying towards the sun, making it hard to see by anything aside from specialized instruments created for solar observations.

Here we go!Comet ATLAS(C/2024 S1)might end up being a -6.7 mag daytime things on the 28th, albeit, it will be extremely near the sun at the time, and all care should be taken. Image handled the 20th. Courtesy Gerald Rhemann. pic.twitter.com/qJETKOMV9LOctober 21, 2024

Comet ATLAS was very first found just last month, on Sept. 27, by the Asteroid Terrestrial-impact Last Alert System (ATLAS) task in Hawaii. The comet comes from a household called Kreutz sungrazers, comets that all follow a comparable orbit that takes them really near to the sun every 500 to 800 years, depending upon every one’s private orbit.

Kreutz sungrazers are thought to be pieces of a single comet that separated eventually in the remote past. The earliest sungrazer might have been observed as far back as 317 BC, according to the European Space Agency.

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Like all comets, C/2024 S1 (ATLAS) was basically a “dirty snowball,” a frozen body made up of gases, rocks and dust left over from the earliest days of our planetary system some 4.6 billion years earlier.

Some comets can use up to numerous thousands or countless years to orbit the sun, although some can orbit on much shorter timescales. Halley’s Comet, among the most popular comets, orbits about every 75 years. Comet Encke, on the other hand, orbits the sun every 3.3 years.

Another comet, called C/2023 A3 (Tsuchinshan-ATLAS), endured its closest technique to the sun on Sept. 27 and place on rather a program for observers worldwide, ending up being noticeable to the naked eye throughout much of October.

Initially published on Space.com

Brett is a science and innovation reporter who wonders about emerging principles in spaceflight and aerospace, alternative launch principles, anti-satellite innovations, and uncrewed systems. Brett’s work has actually appeared on The War Zone at TheDrive.com, Popular Science, the History Channel, Science Discovery, and more. Brett has English degrees from Clemson University and the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. In his downtime, Brett is a working artist, an enthusiast electronic devices engineer and cosplayer, a devoted LEGO fan, and takes pleasure in treking and camping throughout the Appalachian Mountains with his spouse and 2 kids.