simple facts
What is it: Comet C/2025 K1 (ATLAS)
Where is it: 220 million miles away in Pisces
When shared: January 28, 2026
Just as the mythical Icarus flew too close to the sun and had his feathers and wax wings melt, comets are often affected by orbiting too close to our star. That was certainly the case with comet C/2025 K1 (ATLAS), which was split by the Gemini North telescope on Mauna Kea, Hawaii, late last year.
Hopes weren’t high that the ball of ice and dust would survive its closest approach to the sun on October 8, 2025, at a distance of just 31 million miles (5,000 kilometers). Comets that frequently approach the sun It becomes quite bright Its constituent ice then sublimates and becomes a gas. Surprisingly, Comet K1 emerged from behind the Sun intact, but never brightened enough to be visible to the naked eye.
In early November, the comet’s core began to split. this is not uncommon comet; due to extreme solar heating, the core releases jets of gas and dust (called outgassing), which combine with gravity from the sun to weaken the comet’s structure. Most comets either survive or fail to emerge from the far side of the Sun, but Comet K1 did. And telescopes around the world were in the perfect position to photograph its spectacular breakup.
a zoomable The Gemini North version of the image clearly shows three fragments.
Another high-stakes encounter with the sun may soon occur. Dramatic collapse of comet K1. Comet C/2026 A1 (MAPS), the Kreuz-Sunglaser comet discovered on January 13, is currently hurtling towards the Sun and is scheduled to come dangerously close to the Sun’s surface on April 4, coming within 465,000 miles (748,000 km) of it.
If it survives this dangerous encounter, some astronomers predict that the comet could reach magnitude -4, about the same brightness as Venus. It would be a spectacular sight, but like Comet K1, Comet A1 would have to face scorching heat and intense gravity, and could either burst into flames or succumb to the Sun’s fury.
For more images of sublime spaces, click here. This week’s space photo archive.