‘Halloween Comet’ Breaks Apart

October 31, 2024

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A comet nicknamed the “Halloween comet” has fallen apart just before Halloween.

NASA confirmed that its spacecraft captured the comet, called C/2024 S1, breaking into pieces as it zoomed too close to the sun this week.

The comet was first discovered in September by a telescope in Hawaii, and many astronomers hoped it would be visible during Halloween. However, the heat and gravity from the sun caused the comet to disintegrate before it could be seen from Earth.

NASA, along with the European Space Agency, observed the comet’s final moments using a space-based observatory. Scientists believe this comet is part of a group that flies very close to the sun, making them difficult to survive.

Even though the “Halloween comet” won’t appear in the night sky, astronomers are continuing to study comets like it to understand how these space objects behave near the sun.

Article written by Milli Banbury

This article was written using AI as an assistive tool for research and writing.

Learning Options

Recall Questions

Thinking questions

Digital Thinking

Learning Options

Recall Questions

Thinking questions

Digital Thinking

At lunchtime, Maya stayed behind in the hall after the kapa haka rehearsal. She carefully folded the piupiu and placed each tī rākau back in the correct box. When the teacher thanked the group for cleaning up, Maya shrugged and said, 'It was nothing.' As she left, she paused to watch the younger students practising the actions she had taught them the week before. She smiled, but did not say anything. On the bus ride home, Maya kept looking at her hands, which still felt warm from clapping in time with the song.

What can the reader infer about Maya?

She was quietly proud and liked helping the group. She thought the younger students were doing everything wrong. She was annoyed that she had to stay behind after rehearsal. She wanted to stop going to kapa haka lessons.