"Seal Astronomical Observatory" Observing the fragmentation of a comet " atlas" To three cores
Abu Dhabi, 15 November / WAM / The Seal Astronomical Observatory of the International Astronomy Center observed, at dawn today, a relatively bright comet known as C/2025 K1 “Atlas”, after the comet showed a remarkable development over the past days, represented by its fragmentation into three clear nuclei, in an event that experts described as unusual.
Engineer Muhammad Shawkat Odeh, Director of the International Astronomy Center, explained that the signs of the division began on November 10, when the appearance of two comet nuclei was observed, before observations on November 13 confirmed the presence of three nuclei. He added that this division is often linked to the comet’s passage near the sun on October 8, as its increased thermal activity caused its material to crack and its nucleus to subsequently disintegrate.
Odeh pointed out that the comet was discovered last May by the “ATLAS” network of telescopes, stressing that this comet is completely different from the other comet that was linked to rumors about it being an alien vehicle, called ATLAS/3I. He stressed that the available scientific information does not support any of these claims.
He added that the Seal Astronomical Observatory continued to carefully follow the development of the event over the past days, so that at dawn today it was able to clearly photograph the three nuclei, as they appear in the attached images. In an unusual development, the Small Asteroid Center of the International Astronomical Union announced the adoption of the second nucleus as an independent object, and gave it the symbol C/2025 K1-B (ATLAS), which requires observers to identify the observed nucleus when sending scientific measurements to specialized authorities.
He explained that the observatory carried out standard observations (Astrometry) of the two main nuclei, and was able to determine their location with high accuracy in the sky, before sending the data to the International Astronomical Union to contribute to refining the comet’s orbit. These measurements, according to Odeh, contributed to a significant correction of the orbit of the second nucleus. He also pointed out that the US space agency NASA differentiated in its reports between the date of each nucleus’s approach to Earth, as the first nucleus will pass on November 24 at 17:06 GMT, followed by the second nucleus half an hour later at 17:35.
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