Hubble Captures Comet C/2025 K1 Fragmenting

NASA's Hubble Space Telescope captured a rare real-time view of comet C/2025 K1 (ATLAS) fragmenting into multiple pieces in November 2025, providing astronomers with unprecedented insights into the fragility of comet nuclei. The observations, taken from November 8 to 10, occurred as the comet, located about 250 million miles from Earth in the constellation Pisces, was exiting the solar system following its closest approach to the Sun.

The serendipitous event unfolded when technical constraints prevented Hubble from observing its planned target, leading researchers to switch to C/2025 K1 (ATLAS), often shortened to K1. Discovered in May 2025 by the NASA-funded ATLAS survey, the comet reached perihelion on October 8, 2025, passing inside Mercury's orbit at a distance of 0.33 astronomical units from the Sun. This extreme proximity subjected the icy body to intense heating and tidal stresses, which likely initiated its disintegration around eight days before Hubble's imaging began.

Hubble's three 20-second exposures, one per day, revealed the comet breaking into at least four distinct fragments, with some reports noting up to five. Each piece developed its own coma, the hazy...