Comet C/2025 K1 (ATLAS) Fragments into Three Pieces After Close Solar Encounter

Comet C/2025 K1 (ATLAS), discovered in May 2025 by NASA's Asteroid Terrestrial-impact Last Alert System (ATLAS), has fragmented into three pieces after its close approach to the Sun on October 8, 2025.

The ATLAS program, operating telescopes in Hawaii, Chile, and South Africa, is designed to detect asteroids, comets, and other celestial objects.

Following its perihelion, the comet was observed to have split into three distinct fragments.

Italian astronomers captured images of the disintegration using the Copernicus Telescope at the Asiago Observatory in northern Italy between November 11 and 12.

Comets often fragment when approaching the Sun due to intense heat and gravitational forces, causing internal gases and ices to expand rapidly and break apart the nucleus.