Earth this month – Scientists are still unsure why, although some believe it may reflect the lack of carbon-bearing molecules in the comet’s coma, the surrounding cloud of ice, dust, and gas. (Image: Virtual Telescope) Recently discovered comet C/2025 K1 (ATLAS) has dramatically changed course – literally.

First observed in May by astronomers at the Asteroid Terrestrial-Impact Final Warning System, the comet is believed to have narrowly missed its closest approach to the Sun on October 8, when it passed by about 31 million miles (50 million kilometers). This approach placed it four times closer to the Sun than the famous interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS, although the two are unrelated, despite being detected by the same telescope network. But the latest observations by astronomer Gianluca Masi in Manciano, Italy, show that Comet K1 passed by without causing any damage.