Comet C/2025 K1 (ATLAS)

C/2025 K1 (ATLAS) was discovered in May 2025. It is brightening ahead of perihelion in early October, when it might reach magnitude 7.5. The best view will be after parhelion but it is unlikely to survive.
The bright star to the lower left is Iota Ophiuchi, at mag 4.35, the ninth brightest star in the constellation Ophiuchus.
The Asteroid Terrestrial-impact Last Alert System (ATLAS) is a telescope system developed by the University of Hawaii and funded by NASA. It consists of four telescopes, two in Hawaii and one each in Chile and South Africa, that scan the sky for near-Earth objects (NEOs) like asteroids and comets, particularly those that could pose an impact threat to Earth. The primary goal is to provide early warning of potential asteroid impacts.


This seemed to me to be a very fast moving comet. At only 432mm focal length, it was racing across the field of view at a rapid pace.

William Optics FLT-91 triplet apo refractor
William Optics Flat 6AIII reducer-flattener
ZWO ASI 183MC camera
SkyWatcher EQ6r-Pro equatorial mount
homemade portable power supply

247 x 30 second images, processed in PixInsight