“Halloween comet” disintegrates after flying close to the sun, video shows

A recently discovered comet that some stargazers had hoped to see during Halloween week has disintegrated before the day of ghosts and ghouls.

NASA confirmed Tuesday its sun-observing spacecraft captured the moment when the comet Atlas broke into chunks this week as it passed close to the sun.

The Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO) captured the comet as it zoomed toward the sun, posting video of its flight on social media.

At the time, NASA noted that the comet reached its perihelion, or closest approach of the sun, on Monday …