"Halloween comet" disintegrates after flying close to the sun, video shows

A precocious discovered comet that immoderate stargazers had hoped to spot during Halloween week has disintegrated earlier nan time of ghosts and ghouls.

NASA confirmed Tuesday its sun-observing spacecraft captured nan infinitesimal erstwhile nan comet Atlas collapsed into chunks this week arsenic it passed adjacent to nan sun.

The Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO) captured nan comet arsenic it zoomed toward nan sun, posting video of its formation connected societal media.

At nan time, NASA noted that nan comet reached its perihelion, aliases closest attack of nan sun, connected Monday astatine 7:30am ET.

"Over nan past fewer days, it has surgery into chunks arsenic it approached nan sun," NASA said.

Astronomers person been search nan alleged Halloween comet, besides known arsenic C/2024 S1, since it was discovered successful September by a scope successful Hawaii.

As it raced toward nan sun, a space observatory operated by NASA and nan European Space Agency spied its demise.

The comet is thought to beryllium portion of a family of comets that walk incredibly adjacent to nan sun.

This image provided by NASA shows Comet Atlas, nicknamed nan "Halloween comet", approaching its closest to nan sun, October 2024, arsenic seen successful this real-time image from NASA's orbiting Solar and Heliospheric Observatory.  / AP

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