The aptly named Halloween comet (comet C/2024 S1) has been captured on video, burning up as it approaches the Sun. The Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO), a joint mission run by NASA and the European Space Agency (ESA), witnessed the comet’s demise.
The comet, which NASA has now confirmed broke into chunks this week, was estimated to grow as bright as the naked-eye comet, which passed by Earth earlier in October. Unfortunately, the truth about C/2024 S1 is that it was never going to get that bright. In fact, some estimated it would break apart as soon as it got too close to the Sun, and that is exactly what happened.
What we didn’t really expect, though, was to be able to see the comet break apart. That’s where NASA and the ESA’s SOHO spacecraft comes into play. SOHO, which has been studying the Sun and its heliosphere, captured video and still images of the Halloween comet as it made its closest approach to the Sun, where it eventually broke apart.
It’s a pretty spectacular image, and you can see the epic video on the official SOHO website, where NASA has even included audio from the spacecraft so you get the full experience. The comet was discovered back in September by astronomers based in Hawaii. Since then, astronomers have kept a close eye on it, waiting to see just how much of a show it would give skywatchers.
Unfortunately for those hoping to experience another once-in-a-lifetime comet, the Halloween comet just wasn’t up to the job. However, the video captured by SOHO is a perfectly great consolation prize that space enthusiasts are sure to enjoy geeking out over—I know I did.
If you want to dig deeper into the cosmos, I highly recommend checking out all of the discoveries made by the James Webb Space Telescope, which we’ve documented in great detail over the months of its operation.