The fate of a comet that was predicted to pass close to Earth remains a mystery five years after its dramatic breakup in the inner solar system — but some astronomers think a part of it might still be out there.
In early 2020, astronomers discovered the icy traveler, known as C/2019 Y4 ATLAS, and predicted it might provide a night-sky spectacle that would liven up everyone's COVID-19 pandemic lockdown: a comet visible with the unaided eye as it passed within 23 million miles (37.5 million kilometers) of the sun, or about one quarter of the distance at which Earth orbits our star. But then the comet broke into dozens of pieces, leaving would-be observers hanging — and leaving astronomers wondering whether there could still be anything substantial left of our ill-fated icy visitor.
