Comet C/2024 S1: Will the ‘Halloween Comet’ survive the Sun?

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  • Post last modified:October 23, 2024
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Comet C/2024 S1 as captured on September 28. Image credit: Exoplanetaryscience via Wikipedia

The Comet C/2024 S1 has been in the news lately. This could be the second opportunity to see a comet, following the appearance of the comet Tsuchinshan ATLAS. The comet C/2024 S1, coined as the Halloween comet by Forbes, was discovered by the Asteroid Terrestrial Impact Last Alert System (ATLAS) in Hawaii at the end of September 2024.

Comet NameC/2024 S1 (ATLAS)
Discovered ByAsteroid Terrestrial-impact Last Alert System (ATLAS), Hawaii
Discovery Date27 September 2024
Perihelion Date24 October 2024
Orbital PeriodLong-period comet
OriginOort Cloud
Magnitude PredictionCould reach 3.0

The comet C/2024 S1 has become well-known because it will be visible shortly after comet Tsuchinshan. However, there is uncertainty about whether comet’s visibility due to predictions that it might break up as it approaches the Sun.

NASA stated that the comet may appear bright during the daytime around October 24. After Halloween, the comet will reappear in the western skies after sunset as the comet moves away from the Earth, it will be visible with binoculars or a telescope from November 2 to December 19, provided it doesn’t break up reported the New York Post.

The comet will be brightest during the daytime and will be visible below the sun from the US east coast around October 24 reported Economic Times.

However, the best regions to view the comet are Africa, Europe, and South America. The Watchmen Earth and Space Connection shared that the brightness of the comet is fluctuating by +/- 2 magnitude, indicating that the comet’s core may be breaking apart.

However, on the positive side, the comet might reach a brightness of -5 magnitude, appearing brighter than Venus in the northern hemisphere’s pre-dawn sky if it survives the sun (perihelion).

It is believed that the comet C/2024 S1 is a fragment of the Great Comet of 1106, which disintegrated 918 years ago as it passed the sun, originating from the Oort Cloud.

Nihal Sayyad

Nihal Sayyad is a space enthusiast, Digital journalist and Science Communicator. He loves writing about the universe and cosmos. He aims to raise awareness about fascinating subjects beyond our world and bring interesting and reliable content to his audience.

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