A comet named C/2025 F2 (SWAN), recently discovered by amateur astronomers, has disintegrated near the sun. The comet’s remnant can still be seen in the sky from April 23 to May 14, with its final passage expected this weekend.
Comet C/2025 F2 (SWAN) was spotted by three independent observers using images taken by the SWAN instrument on the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory spacecraft. The Minor Planet Center officially designated it as a new comet on April 8. However, just days after its discovery, signs suggest that the comet has disintegrated.
According to Qicheng Zang, a postdoctoral fellow at Lowell Observatory in Arizona, observations indicate that the comet’s green glow has faded, and it is now likely that the comet has broken apart due to the extreme solar radiation.
Comet C/2025 F2 (SWAN) was expected to pass within 31 million miles of the sun in May, but its disintegration near the sun suggests that it may not have completed this close passage.
Astronomer Gianluca Masi observed the comet twice using a telescope in Italy. His observations were crucial for allowing other astronomers to point their telescopes at the correct location.
To spot the remnant of Comet C/2025 F2 (SWAN), observe the constellation Andromeda northeast of the celestial horizon about 30 minutes before sunrise on April 23, according to Zang.
Recent discoveries of comets highlight the importance of the SWAN instrument in detecting these objects. The instrument was designed to map out hydrogen in our solar system but has contributed to the discovery of 16 comets to date.
The disintegration of Comet C/2025 F2 (SWAN) serves as a reminder of the extreme conditions that comets face when approaching the sun, and scientists continue to study these events to better understand the processes involved.
Source: https://edition.cnn.com/2025/04/18/science/comet-swan-how-to-watch/index.html