Comet C/2024 S1 Disappears as It Approaches the Sun, Baffling Astronomers
Comet C/2024 S1 (ATLAS) suddenly disappeared from radar after approaching the Sun.
It was due to pass dangerously close to the Sun on October 28.
However, after this critical approach, the comet no longer appeared in clear images from the space coronagraph, reported the Laboratory of Solar Astronomy of the Space Research Institute and the Institute of Solar-Terrestrial Physics of the Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences.
Experts believe that comets are usually destroyed by high temperatures and strong tidal forces from the Sun.
Comet C/2024 S1 was discovered on September 27, 2024, using a powerful telescope in Hawaii.
It was due to pass within 500 thousand kilometers of the Sun on October 28.
After this critical approach, it did not appear in images from the LASCO C2 space coronagraph.
It is likely that the comet could have been destroyed by the high temperatures near the Sun.
