New imagery from NASA shows a celestial outsider known as 3I/ATLAS as it travels through our solar system.
Before now, researchers have been relying solely on ground-based observatories or Earth-orbiting spacecraft to track 3I/ATLAS’s position, which only provides specific views of the anomalous object, according to LiveScience.
The NASA-funded ATLAS (Asteroid Terrestrial-impact Last Alert System) observatory made the discovery of Comet 3I/ATLAS on July 1 of this year.
Newly released images of the interstellar Comet 3I/ATLAS
The object, known as 3I/ATLAS, primarily appears as an illuminated spot in the eagerly anticipated images, but some also show the comet’s tail as a faint, elongated streak.
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NASA’s previous imagery of the comet 3I/ATLAS
NASA has a number of telescope assets which have captured images of interstellar comet. They include: The Hubble, Webb, TESS, Swift, SPHEREx, Perseverance Mars rover, Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, Curiosity rover, Europa Clipper, Lucy, Psyche, Parker Solar Probe, PUNCH, and ESA/NASA’s SOHO and Juice.
The interstellar Comet 3I/ATLAS was first discovered in on July 1
According to NASA, comet 3I/ATLAS is only the third known object from outside our solar system to be found traveling through our celestial neighborhood, after comets ‘Oumuamua in 2017 and 2I/Borisov in 2019.
Because of the hyperbolic nature of comet 3I/ATLAS’ orbital path, astronomers have classified this object as interstellar, which means it doesn’t travel in a closed orbit around the sun.
The comet’s path across the solar system has been narrowed down by the European Space Agency by “ten fold.” In addition, the space agency hopes that in the days ahead, its Juice observer will be able to make additional significant observations.
On Dec. 19, comet 3I/ATLAS is expected to make its closest approach, which will pose no threat to Earth. The object will be within 170 million miles of Earth on that day, which is roughly twice the distance between Earth and the sun, according to LiveScience.
Just what is comet 3I/ATLAS?
A likely comet known as 3I/ATLAS made news earlier in July when it was confirmed to have originated outside Earth’s solar system, which makes it just one of three known interstellar objects ever discovered in our cosmic neighborhood.
The object, which scientists estimate to be more than 12 miles wide, is whizzing at 37 miles per second relative to the sun on a trajectory that on Oct. 30 brought it within about 130 million miles of Earth, according to NASA.
When it was discovered, 3I/ATLAS was whizzing at about 137,000 mph, according to NASA.
The interstellar visitor, though, was expected to only pick up speed – reaching as fast at 153,000 mph – as it continued its journey toward the sun.
CONTRIBUTING Eris Lagatta/USA TODAY
