Discovery and Demise
, also known as the Halloween comet or C/2024 S1, was discovered on September 27, 2024, by a telescope in and was anticipated to be visible around Halloween.
The comet disintegrated as it approached its closest point to the sun, known as , on October 28, 2024, with and the European Space Agency's capturing its breakup.
Scientific Insights and Future Implications
Comet Atlas was part of the Kreutz family of sungrazers, comets that pass extremely close to the sun, often disintegrating due to the intense heat and gravitational forces.
Despite the disintegration of Comet Atlas, the event contributes to scientific understanding of comet behavior, with NASA's Sungrazer Project aiding in the study of such comets and their orbits.