Comets often pay the price when their orbits bring them too close to the Sun. This was clearly the case with Comet ATLAS, which was recorded breaking up by the Gemini North on Mauna Kea, Hawaii, late last year.
See also: The "Great Comet of 2026" could be visible to the naked eye
Comet K1 was first discovered in May 2025 by the Asteroid Terrestrial-impact Last Alert System (ATLAS) and was visible mainly from the Southern Hemisphere.
As it approached perihelion on October 8, 2025, just 50 million kilometers from the Sun, expectations for its survival were low. Comets that survive such a close approach usually become much brighter afterward, their icy materials sublimating into gases. Although Comet K1 reappeared behind the Sun almost intact, it never shone brightly enough to be visible to the naked eye. In early November, its nucleus began to break apart.
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This phenomenon is not unusual for comets: intense solar heat causes them to eject gas and dust — a process known as outgassing — which, combined with the Sun’s gravitational forces, weakens their structure. Most comets either survive or never reappear behind the Sun; however, Comet K1 did — and in the perfect spot for telescopes around the world to record its spectacular breakup.
Another critical and dangerous encounter with the Sun may follow the dramatic breakup of Comet K1. Comet C/2026 A1 (MAPS), a “sun-eating Kreutz comet” discovered on January 13, is hurtling toward the Sun at high speed and is expected to make an extremely close and dangerous pass on April 4, coming within just 465,000 miles (748,000 kilometers) of its surface.
See also: Newly discovered comet SWAN “exploded”
If it survives this ordeal, some astronomers estimate that the comet could reach a brightness of magnitude −4, similar to that of Venus. Such a phenomenon would be impressive, but — like Comet K1 — Comet A1 will face extreme heat and strong gravitational forces, which could either make it shine blindingly or lead to its disintegration by the Sun’s wrath.
