![\"Astronomers](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/comet-broken-solar-system.jpg\")
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\t\t\t Giancula Masi \/ Virtual Telescope Project\n\t<\/p>\n
A comet, dubbed C\/2025 K1 (ATLAS)<\/a>, spectacularly broke apart into three huge chunks \u2014 and anybody with an eight-inch telescope or bigger can catch the resulting fireworks show for the next several weeks, according to Sky & Telescope<\/a>.<\/p>\n The comet shouldn\u2019t be confused with interstellar object 3I\/ATLAS<\/a>. K1\/ATLAS originated from within the furthest stretches of the solar system, and not interstellar space.<\/p>\n Italian astronomer Gianluca Masi of the Virtual Telescope 2.0 Project<\/a>, which allows public access to remotely-controlled telescopes, captured incredible pictures<\/a> of the comet on Tuesday, clearly showing that the comet\u2019s nucleus has broken into three fragments. In the pictures, the fragments glow like a car\u2019s halogen headlights with their light piercing the gray black darkness.<\/p>\n \u201cComet C\/2025 K1 ATLAS experienced a dramatic fragmentation event, becoming one of the most interesting objects of its kind seen in recent years,\u201d Masi wrote<\/a> in a blog post about the event.<\/p>\n Astronomers first spotted the comet<\/a> in May this year, using the telescope at El Sauce Observatory in R\u00edo Hurtado, Chile. They were scanning the skies as part of the NASA-funded Asteroid Terrestrial-impact Last Alert System\u00a0(ATLAS)<\/a>, which is meant to serve as an early warning system for any moving objects that may hit Earth.<\/p>\n K1\/ATLAS originated in the Oort Cloud<\/a>, according to Sky & Telescope, a region that surrounds our solar system, made up of icy objects. It slingshot itself into the inner solar system, making its closest approach to the Sun on October 8.<\/p>\n Then, in late October and early November, astronomers detected two outbursts of light from the comet<\/a> and discovered it was breaking apart. This often happens when a comet \u2014 mostly made up of rock, ice, and dust<\/a> \u2014 approaches the Sun and starts to glow and disintegrate due to the effects of solar radiation and gravity. In their journey around the Sun, these cosmic objects also develop a prototypical tail of gas and dust, giving them their telltale shape.<\/p>\n If you don\u2019t have access to a telescope, anybody can log onto the website of the Virtual Telescope 2.0 Project, which Masi founded, and watch live footage of the comet on November 25<\/a> when it makes its nearest approach to Earth.<\/p>\n This is far from the first time a comet has broken apart while traveling through the solar system. Back in 1994, the comet Shoemaker-Levy 9 broke apart into almost two dozen pieces and then struck Jupiter, marking the first time humans ever observed a comet hitting a planet, according to NASA<\/a>.<\/p>\n As for K1\/ATLAS, scientists don\u2019t expect it to hit any planet during its passage through our cosmic neighborhood. But it\u2019s an excellent opportunity to study these mysterious visitors \u2014 and witness a rare phenomenon taking place more than 60 million kilometers from Earth<\/a>.<\/p>\n