Look Up! A 'Halloween Comet' Will Be Visible This Month—Here's How to See It

Trick-or-treaters are in for more than just candy this All Hallows' Eve—a special Halloween comet is expected to be visible in the Southern and Northern Hemispheres between October 24 and November 1.

Officially named C/2024 S1 (ATLAS), the comet was discovered in September by the Asteroid Terrestrial-Impact Last Alert System (ATLAS) in Hawaii. According to astronomers, the comet is expected to be visible on October 24 when it makes its closest approach to Earth. Look for it in the Eastern sky just before sunrise.

"It may become bright enough to see during the daytime," according to Gordon Johnston of NASA. "I expect that at night this comet will only be visible with binoculars or a telescope, as its path will not bring it very close to the Earth.”

The comet is thought to be a Kreutz sungrazer comet, which is a special family of comets that come close to the sun at their nearest approach (called perihelion). To be considered a sungrazer, a comet needs to get within about 850,000 miles of the sun during its nearest approach. This proximity to the sun can be hard on the comet and many sungrazing comets do not survive perihelion.

C/2024 S1 (ATLAS) is expected to reach perihelion on October 28, when it will be within about 190,000 miles of the sun's surface. If it survives, it is expected to visible again in the Western sky from October 29 through December.