Sensational: Hungarian astrophotographer captures a comet falling apart!

Hungarian astrophotographer Lionel Majzik has made headlines in the scientific community with his groundbreaking discovery: comet C/2024 G3 (ATLAS), which was hailed as one of the brightest comets of the year, is disintegrating. Majzik’s observations, made using a remote-controlled telescope in Chile, were the first to confirm this celestial phenomenon, drawing attention from major science outlets like Live Science, Space.com, and IFL Science.

Discovered in April 2024, the space rock was initially expected to put on a spectacular show. It reached its perihelion, or closest approach to the Sun, on 13 January, coming within 0.09 astronomical units—about 13.5 million kilometres. However, the intense heat and radiation appear to have caused thermal stress, leading to cracks in its nucleus and its subsequent fragmentation, LiveScience reports.

First signs of disintegration

Majzik’s photographs captured between 18 and 20 January revealed dramatic changes. While ATLAS’ tail grew brighter and more expansive, its coma, the glowing envelope around the nucleus, significantly dimmed. By 19 January, the once-visible nucleus had transformed into a streak of light in the tail, signalling its likely disintegration. “At first, I suspected an imaging error,” Majzik shared, “but after a thorough analysis of the raw data, it became clear that the nucleus of C/2024 G3 (ATLAS) had broken apart.” His findings were later confirmed by astronomer Krisztián Sárneczky and supported by additional international observations.