What If Falling Apart Is the Only Way to Scatter Light?

Reflections on C/2025 K1 ATLAS and the Hope We Find in Life's Broken Moments

Comet C/2025 K1 ATLAS breaking apart 11-26-2025 (OurNightSky.Us)

Have You Ever watched a comet fall apart?

Lately, I’ve been captivated by something unfolding right before our eyes in the cosmos, Comet C/2025 K1 ATLAS. Have you heard about it? This icy wanderer, discovered earlier this year, has been putting on quite a show, but not the one we might have expected. Instead of a brilliant tail streaking across the sky, it’s breaking apart, fragmenting into pieces as it journeys away from the Sun. Seeing this unfold has made me stop in my tracks and reflect on a very real question in my own life: What happens when the path you're on causes you to crack and crumble?

Let me share a bit of what I’ve learned watching this each night, but I’ll do it through some questions to spark your own curiosity. Picture this: A comet like C/2025 K1 ATLAS hurtles from the distant Oort Cloud, drawn in by the Sun’s gravity. It reached its closest point to the Sun, which is known as perihelion and it did so on October 8, 2025.

What do you think occurs when such a fragile ball of ice and dust gets that close to our star’s scorching heat and tidal forces? Observations from telescopes around the world show it’s splitting into at least three, maybe even four fragments. Right now, as of mid-November, you can spot it in the constellation Ursa Major if you have a good telescope or binoculars, though it’s fading as it heads back to the outer solar system. Isn’t it intriguing how something that survived billions of years in the cold void can suddenly fracture under pressure?

To help visualize this cosmic drama, take a look at my image above, which I took this week. It captures the comet’s core coming undone, pieces drifting apart like whispers in the dark.

As I reflect on this, I can’t help but draw a parallel to my own life, through a lens of faith, of course. Have you ever experienced a “fall” in your journey? I have, and it was a fracturing of life I wouldn’t wish on anyone. However, there is a part of me that knows it was necessary in order for me to break free and cast a wider light.

For you, maybe it was a mistake that shattered your plans, or a season where everything felt like it was breaking apart, relationships, dreams, health, even your sense of self? Think about the story of humanity’s original fall in the Garden of Eden, where one choice led to fragmentation from perfect harmony with God. Or consider the prodigal son, who wandered far, squandered his inheritance, and hit rock bottom, feeling utterly broken. What if these moments aren’t the end, but a pivot point?

In my faith walk, I’ve come to see that even when life crumbles, there’s a divine thread of hope weaving through it all. Could it be that God uses our broken pieces to create something new, like how the psalmist cries out in Psalm 34:18,

“The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit” ?

Just as Comet C/2025 K1 ATLAS fragments but continues its path, scattering light in unexpected ways, is it possible that our own falls lead to greater illumination? What if the mistakes we regret become the very things that draw us closer to God’s grace, His redemption, and His gift of renewal? I’ve been there; I am there still, and at times when prayers feel unanswered, and the weight of errors seems too heavy. I am reminded that faith whispers hope: There’s a Savior who mends the broken, turns ashes to beauty, and promises that “all things work together for good to those who love God” (Romans 8:28). Doesn’t that encourage you to look up, even in the mess? It is why I look up, and must keep looking up every single day and night.

So, as we watch this comet’s story unfold, let’s ask ourselves: What fragments in our lives need surrendering to find wholeness? How might embracing the fall lead us to rise stronger, bathed in hope?

Until next time, keep looking up.

-g

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