Hubble Was Watching This Comet When the Coolest Thing Happened
Gizmodo • • science
Key Points:
- In November 2025, comet C/2025 K1 (ATLAS) disintegrated into multiple fragments after a close, heated approach to the Sun, an event serendipitously captured by the Hubble Space Telescope.
- The comet, originating from the Oort Cloud, passed within 30 million miles of the Sun, inside Mercury’s orbit, where intense heat and stress caused it to break apart shortly after perihelion.
- Hubble’s high-resolution images taken from November 8 to 10, 2025, revealed the comet fragmenting into four distinct pieces, with one smaller fragment further breaking apart during the observation period.
- This is the first time Hubble has observed a comet fragmenting so
