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New images of ATLAS’ “other” Comet C/2025 K1 (ATLAS) show it taking on a golden glow as it passes closest to the Sun. And scientists aren’t quite sure why. . | Credit: Dan Bartlett
New photos reveal that a recently discovered comet dubbed “the next ATLAS” has turned into a spectacular golden ribbon after surviving a close approach to the sun, a journey that many experts thought would be the comet’s doom.
A comet called C/2025 K1 (ATLAS)discovered in May by astronomers from the Asteroid Impact Last Warning System (ATLAS), which scans the night sky for moving objects using telescopes in Hawaii, Chile and South Africa. The object has been largely overlooked until recently, largely because of the recent hype about an interstellar comet. 3I/ATLASwhich was discovered by ATLAS astronomers at the beginning of July and Comet Lemmonwhich was clearly visible in the night sky in recent weeks.
C/2025 K1 reached its closest point to the Sun, or perihelion, on Oct. 8, coming at least 31 million miles (50 million kilometers) from our home star — about four times closer than 3I/ATLAS managed. at its perihelion October 29 Due to the intense gravitational pull from this close encounter, many experts believed that C/2025 K1 would be torn apart. Spaceweather.com.
On October 29, at the same time 3I/ATLAS reached perihelion, the astrophotographer Dan Bartlett captured a stunning shot of C/2025 K1 from June Lake in California. The image shows a comet with a distinctive golden glow and a long tail that looks as if it has been swept away by the solar wind – similar to Comet Lemmon, which the tail was recently torn.
“This comet should not have survived its October 8 perihelion,” Bartlett told Spaceweather.com. “But it survived and is now a red/brown/gold color rarely seen in comets.” The same unique color has been spotted by at least two other photographers, in California and in arizona.
2/2025 K1 (ATLAS) reached its closest point to the Sun on October 8. and more than four times closer to our home star than 3I/ATLAS. | Credits: NASA/JPL
Comets usually appear white because the sunlight they reflect contains all wavelengths visible light. But when the cloud of ice, gas and dust surrounding a comet, called a coma, contains specific chemicals, they can absorb certain wavelengths of light, causing the comet to glow a different shade.
For example, several notable comets have turned green in recent years, including Comet Nishimuraexplosive “devil’s comet” 12P/Pons-Brooks and the aptly named “Green Comet” C/2022 E3 — due to the presence of dicarbon or cyanide in the respective comas. Some comets can also turn blue if their comas contain carbon monoxide or ammonia, which can happen with 3I/ATLASbased on recent observations. However, the gold color of C/2025 K1 is much rarer.
Recently blog postan astronomer David Schleicherwho studied C/2025 K1 from the Lowell Observatory in Arizona, wrote that the comet is surprisingly lacking in carbon-containing molecules such as dicarbon, carbon monoxide, and cyanide. Only two other known comets ever had fewer of these molecules, he wrote.
The Devil’s Comet 12P/Pons-Brooks was one of several comets that recently turned green. This photo was taken during a solar flyby in 2024. | Credit: Jan Erik Vallestad
This depletion of carbon-containing molecules is the most likely reason for the comet’s golden color, but “we don’t know exactly why,” Spaceweather.com wrote. But it could also have something to do with the recent solar flyby or the relatively low gas-to-dust ratio, they added.
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C/2025 K1 is now at apparent magnitude 9, which is as bright as 3I/ATLAS after an unexpected enlightening event which occurred as the sun flew. Both objects are too faint to be seen with the naked eye, but can be seen with a good telescope or a couple star binoculars.
If you want to see for yourself, C/2025 K1 is located between the constellations of Virgo and Leo in the eastern sky and is most clearly visible just before sunrise, according to Spaceweather.com. It will reach its closest point to Earth on November 25, meaning it will likely remain visible until early December.