{"id":799129,"date":"2025-11-14T09:59:29","date_gmt":"2025-11-14T14:59:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/spaceweekly.com\/?p=799129"},"modified":"2025-11-14T09:59:29","modified_gmt":"2025-11-14T14:59:29","slug":"comet-c-2025-k1-atlas-fragments-as-it-approaches-its-november-25-close-pass-to-earth","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/spaceweekly.com\/?p=799129","title":{"rendered":"Comet C\/2025 K1 ATLAS fragments as it approaches its November 25 close pass to Earth"},"content":{"rendered":"<p> <br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div wp_automatic_readability=\"83.85128458498\">\n<p>Fresh observations of comet C\/2025 K1 (ATLAS) obtained on November 13 show that the object has fragmented into several components following its recent perihelion passage.<\/p>\n<p>The data was acquired by the Virtual Telescope Project using a remote Celestron C14 telescope paired with a Paramount ME mount and an SBIG ST-10XME CCD, operated from Manciano, Italy. Fifteen unfiltered 60-second exposures were combined via sigma-clipping to preserve fine structural detail within the inner coma.<\/p>\n<p>The resulting image displays multiple discrete condensations, interpreted as sub-nuclei or compact debris clouds, along with a faint plume positioned below the leading fragment.<\/p>\n<p>A second product, processed with a 20-degree rotational-gradient filter centred on the brightest component, enhances these structures and highlights the spatial separation between the fragments.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-video\"><video controls=\"\" loop=\"\" playsinline=\"\" class=\"perfmatters-lazy\" data-src=\"https:\/\/watchers.news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Comet-C2025-K1-ATLAS-12-vs-13-Nov-2025-images-showing-the-evolution-in-24-hours.webm\"\/><noscript><video controls=\"\" loop=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/watchers.news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Comet-C2025-K1-ATLAS-12-vs-13-Nov-2025-images-showing-the-evolution-in-24-hours.webm\" playsinline=\"\"\/><\/noscript><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Comet C\/2025 K1 ATLAS: November 12 and November 13, 2025, images showing the evolution over 24 hours<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Using imagery from both November 12 and 13, the Virtual Telescope Project produced an animation documenting the relative motion of the individual units over a 24-hour period.<\/p>\n<p>The sequence confirms that the breakup was well underway by mid-November, with distinct elements diverging inside a broad, diffuse coma.<\/p>\n<p>C\/2025 K1 (ATLAS) was discovered on May 24 by the Asteroid Terrestrial-impact Last Alert System. Orbital solutions place its perihelion on October 8, at a distance of roughly 0.334\u20130.335 AU from the Sun.<\/p>\n<p>The comet will make its closest approach to Earth on November 25, at approximately 0.403 AU. Its near-parabolic eccentricity, around 1.0015 depending on the specific solution, identifies it as a dynamically new object likely arriving from the Oort Cloud.<\/p>\n<p>Spectroscopic studies conducted earlier in the apparition reported that the comet\u2019s coma is strongly depleted in carbon-bearing species, including C<sub>2<\/sub> and CN, placing it within the small group of carbon-chain-depleted comets known so far.<\/p>\n<p>This compositional signature, coupled with its dynamical youth, provides an opportunity to examine volatile behaviour in previously unprocessed material.<\/p>\n<div class=\"kb-gallery-wrap-id-237801_e24272-0b alignnone wp-block-kadence-advancedgallery\">\n<div class=\"kb-gallery-ul kb-gallery-non-static kb-gallery-type-thumbslider kb-gallery-id-237801_e24272-0b kb-gallery-caption-style-bottom-hover kb-gallery-filter-none\" data-image-filter=\"none\" data-lightbox-caption=\"true\">\n<div class=\"kt-blocks-carousel kt-carousel-container-dotstyle-dark\">\n<div id=\"kb-slider-237801_e24272-0b\" class=\"kt-blocks-carousel-init kb-blocks-slider kt-carousel-arrowstyle-whiteondark kt-carousel-dotstyle-dark kb-slider-group-arrow kb-slider-arrow-position-center\" data-columns-xxl=\"4\" data-columns-xl=\"4\" data-columns-md=\"4\" data-columns-sm=\"4\" data-columns-xs=\"4\" data-columns-ss=\"4\" data-slider-anim-speed=\"400\" data-slider-scroll=\"1\" data-slider-arrows=\"true\" data-slider-fade=\"true\" data-slider-dots=\"false\" data-slider-hover-pause=\"false\" data-slider-type=\"thumbnail\" data-slider-nav=\"kb-thumb-slider-237801_e24272-0b\" data-slider-auto=\"1\" data-slider-speed=\"7000\" data-slider-gap=\"10px\" data-slider-gap-tablet=\"10px\" data-slider-gap-mobile=\"10px\" data-show-pause-button=\"false\">\n<li class=\"kb-slide-item kb-gallery-carousel-item\">\n<div class=\"kadence-blocks-gallery-item\">\n<div class=\"kadence-blocks-gallery-item-inner\">\n<figure class=\"kb-gallery-figure kadence-blocks-gallery-item-has-caption\" wp_automatic_readability=\"1.5\">\n<div class=\"kb-gal-image-radius\" wp_automatic_readability=\"8\">\n<div class=\"kb-gallery-image-contain kadence-blocks-gallery-intrinsic kb-gallery-image-ratio-inherit kb-has-image-ratio-inherit\"><\/div>\n<p>The inner coma after a 20-degrees rotational gradient filtering. Credit: Gianluca Masi\/Virtual Telescope Project<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n<li class=\"kb-slide-item kb-gallery-carousel-item\">\n<div class=\"kadence-blocks-gallery-item\">\n<div class=\"kadence-blocks-gallery-item-inner\">\n<figure class=\"kb-gallery-figure kadence-blocks-gallery-item-has-caption\" wp_automatic_readability=\"5\">\n<div class=\"kb-gal-image-radius\" wp_automatic_readability=\"15\">\n<div class=\"kb-gallery-image-contain kadence-blocks-gallery-intrinsic kb-gallery-image-ratio-inherit kb-has-image-ratio-inherit\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"data:image\/svg+xml,%3Csvg%20xmlns=\" http:=\"\" www.w3.org=\"\" 2000=\"\" svg\"%20viewbox=\"0%200%201000%20667\" %3e%3c=\"\" svg%3e\"=\"\" data-splide-lazy=\"https:\/\/watchers.news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Comet-C2025-K1-ATLAS-several-pieces-are-visible-1024x930.webp\" width=\"1024\" height=\"930\" alt=\"Comet C\/2025 K1 (ATLAS) on November 13, 2025\" data-full-image=\"https:\/\/watchers.news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Comet-C2025-K1-ATLAS-several-pieces-are-visible.webp\" data-light-image=\"https:\/\/watchers.news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Comet-C2025-K1-ATLAS-several-pieces-are-visible.webp\" data-splide-lazy-srcset=\"https:\/\/watchers.news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Comet-C2025-K1-ATLAS-several-pieces-are-visible-1024x930.webp 1024w, https:\/\/watchers.news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Comet-C2025-K1-ATLAS-several-pieces-are-visible-300x272.webp 300w, https:\/\/watchers.news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Comet-C2025-K1-ATLAS-several-pieces-are-visible-768x697.webp 768w, https:\/\/watchers.news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Comet-C2025-K1-ATLAS-several-pieces-are-visible.webp 1292w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" data-id=\"237812\" class=\"wp-image-237812 skip-lazy\"\/><\/div>\n<p>Comet C\/2025 K1 (ATLAS) on November 13, 2025 at 04:30 UTC, showing multiple bright fragments and a diffuse dust structure in the inner coma. The image is a sigma-clipping combination of fifteen 60-second unfiltered exposures, taken with a remotely operated C14 + Paramount ME + SBIG ST-10XME system of the Virtual Telescope Project in Manciano, Italy. The telescope tracked the comet during acquisition, resolving the primary components and associated dust plume. Credit: Gianluca Masi\/Virtual Telescope Project<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n<\/div>\n<div id=\"kb-thumb-slider-237801_e24272-0b\" class=\"kb-blocks-slider kt-carousel-arrowstyle-whiteondark kt-carousel-dotstyle-dark\" data-slider-anim-speed=\"400\" data-slider-scroll=\"1\" data-slider-arrows=\"true\" data-slider-fade=\"true\" data-slider-dots=\"false\" data-slider-hover-pause=\"false\" data-slider-speed=\"7000\" data-slider-type=\"thumbnail\" data-slider-nav=\"kb-slider-237801_e24272-0b\">\n<li class=\"kb-slide-item kb-gallery-carousel-item\">\n<div class=\"kadence-blocks-gallery-thumb-item\">\n<div class=\"kadence-blocks-gallery-thumb-item-inner\">\n<figure class=\"kb-gallery-figure\">\n<div class=\"kb-gal-image-radius\">\n<div class=\"kb-gallery-image-contain kadence-blocks-gallery-intrinsic kb-gallery-image-ratio-land32 kb-has-image-ratio-land32\"><img data-perfmatters-preload=\"\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/watchers.news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/The-inner-coma-after-a-20-degrees-rotational-gradient-filtering.webp\" width=\"1024\" height=\"744\" alt=\"The inner coma after a 20-degrees rotational gradient filtering\" data-full-image=\"https:\/\/watchers.news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/The-inner-coma-after-a-20-degrees-rotational-gradient-filtering.webp\" data-light-image=\"https:\/\/watchers.news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/The-inner-coma-after-a-20-degrees-rotational-gradient-filtering.webp\" data-id=\"237813\" class=\"wp-image-237813 skip-lazy\" srcset=\"https:\/\/watchers.news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/The-inner-coma-after-a-20-degrees-rotational-gradient-filtering.webp 1536w, https:\/\/watchers.news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/The-inner-coma-after-a-20-degrees-rotational-gradient-filtering-300x218.webp 300w, https:\/\/watchers.news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/The-inner-coma-after-a-20-degrees-rotational-gradient-filtering-1024x744.webp 1024w, https:\/\/watchers.news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/The-inner-coma-after-a-20-degrees-rotational-gradient-filtering-768x558.webp 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" fetchpriority=\"high\"\/><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n<li class=\"kb-slide-item kb-gallery-carousel-item\">\n<div class=\"kadence-blocks-gallery-thumb-item\">\n<div class=\"kadence-blocks-gallery-thumb-item-inner\">\n<figure class=\"kb-gallery-figure\">\n<div class=\"kb-gal-image-radius\">\n<div class=\"kb-gallery-image-contain kadence-blocks-gallery-intrinsic kb-gallery-image-ratio-land32 kb-has-image-ratio-land32\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/watchers.news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Comet-C2025-K1-ATLAS-several-pieces-are-visible.webp\" width=\"1024\" height=\"930\" alt=\"Comet C\/2025 K1 (ATLAS) on November 13, 2025\" data-full-image=\"https:\/\/watchers.news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Comet-C2025-K1-ATLAS-several-pieces-are-visible.webp\" data-light-image=\"https:\/\/watchers.news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Comet-C2025-K1-ATLAS-several-pieces-are-visible.webp\" data-id=\"237812\" class=\"wp-image-237812 skip-lazy\" srcset=\"https:\/\/watchers.news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Comet-C2025-K1-ATLAS-several-pieces-are-visible.webp 1292w, https:\/\/watchers.news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Comet-C2025-K1-ATLAS-several-pieces-are-visible-300x272.webp 300w, https:\/\/watchers.news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Comet-C2025-K1-ATLAS-several-pieces-are-visible-1024x930.webp 1024w, https:\/\/watchers.news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Comet-C2025-K1-ATLAS-several-pieces-are-visible-768x697.webp 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\"\/><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>At the time of the November 13 observations, the comet was located in the constellation Leo, positioned for pre-dawn observation depending on longitude and sky brightness conditions. <\/p>\n<p>References: <\/p>\n<p><sup>1 <\/sup>Comet C\/2025 K1 ATLAS fragmentation: 13 Nov. 2025 image and animation. \u2013 Virtual Telescope Project \u2013 November 13, 2025 <\/p>\n<p><!-- MOLONGUI AUTHORSHIP PLUGIN 5.1.0 --><br \/>\n<!-- https:\/\/www.molongui.com\/wordpress-plugin-post-authors --><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><br \/>\n<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/watchers.news\/2025\/11\/14\/comet-c-2025-k1-atlas-fragments-as-it-approaches-its-november-25-close-pass-to-earth\/?rand=772151\">Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Fresh observations of comet C\/2025 K1 (ATLAS) obtained on November 13 show that the object has fragmented into several components following its recent perihelion passage. The data was acquired by&hellip; <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":799130,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[13],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-799129","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-genaero"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/spaceweekly.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/799129","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/spaceweekly.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/spaceweekly.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/spaceweekly.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/spaceweekly.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=799129"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/spaceweekly.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/799129\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/spaceweekly.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/799130"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/spaceweekly.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=799129"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/spaceweekly.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=799129"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/spaceweekly.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=799129"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}