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Interstellar Comet

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Rubin data uncovers pre-discovery images of interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS
space10 days ago

Rubin data uncovers pre-discovery images of interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS

Astronomers found images of the interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS in Vera Rubin Observatory commissioning data from June 20, 2025, ten days before its official discovery by ATLAS on July 1, 2025. Rubin captured nine additional images between June 21 and July 2, with a clear coma, but a non-operational data pipeline during validation required a custom pipeline to extract the signals. The discovery hints Rubin LSST could detect about one interstellar comet per year. Joint observations by JUICE and Europa Clipper later detected hydrogen, oxygen, and carbon from 3I/ATLAS, with JWST data suggesting excess carbon dioxide; these findings help compare the comet’s origin to solar-system bodies. The nucleus is ~1 km wide and traveling ~140,000 mph, implying an age of several billion years and multiple stellar encounters. The study was published in The Astrophysical Journal Letters.

via Space|
#3iatlas#astrophysical-journal-letters#commissioning-data
Interstellar Comet 3I/ATLAS Carries Frozen Clues From Ultra-Cold Star-Forming Realms
space1 month ago

Interstellar Comet 3I/ATLAS Carries Frozen Clues From Ultra-Cold Star-Forming Realms

Astronomers using ALMA detected an exceptionally high abundance of deuterated water (HDO) in interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS—more than 30 times what’s typical in solar-system comets and over 40 times Earth's ocean water—indicating the comet formed in environments colder than about 30 Kelvin, far colder than the region that formed our solar system. The finding suggests interstellar comets carry preserved birth-region chemistry and underscores that planetary formation varies with local temperature and radiation across the galaxy.

via The Daily Galaxy|
#3iatlas#alma#astrochemistry
Juice mission spots interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS to sharpen Earth's distant-asteroid warning
science1 month ago

Juice mission spots interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS to sharpen Earth's distant-asteroid warning

ESA's Juice spacecraft imaged interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS as it skimmed the Sun, illustrating how deep-space observations can reveal distant objects not visible from Earth and improve early warning by refining their orbits, a capability that complements Earth-based tracking and planetary-defense efforts.

via BBC Sky at Night Magazine|
#asteroid-tracking#comet-3iatlas#interstellar-comet
Interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS pours water into space, JUICE reveals
space1 month ago

Interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS pours water into space, JUICE reveals

Interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS is actively ejecting water vapor as it passes near the Sun, with an outflow of about two tons per second (roughly 70 Olympic swimming pools of water vapor per day), observed by ESA’s JUICE spacecraft using the MAJIS and JANUS instruments. Infrared detections of water vapor and carbon dioxide around perihelion show an extended coma, tail, and jets, offering a glimpse into materials formed around another star billions of years ago. The observations were unplanned and conducted in 2025, with data reaching Earth in 2026, highlighting JUICE’s capability to study interstellar visitors on its journey to Jupiter.

via Space|
#3iatlas#interstellar-comet#juice
JWST Finds Interstellar Comet 3I/ATLAS May Be Among the Galaxy’s Oldest Objects
space2 months ago

JWST Finds Interstellar Comet 3I/ATLAS May Be Among the Galaxy’s Oldest Objects

James Webb Space Telescope analysis of interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS suggests it formed in a cold region of the Milky Way about 10–12 billion years ago, potentially making it older than Earth and possibly as old as the galaxy or even the universe. Its isotopic composition differs from solar-system comets, implying formation in a different stellar environment. The comet is now exiting the solar system after a close approach to Earth, with further travels past the outer planets as researchers continue to refine its origins.

via Live Science|
#3iatlas#interstellar-comet#isotopes
Interstellar Comet 3I/ATLAS Shows Methanol-Rich Chemistry
space2 months ago

Interstellar Comet 3I/ATLAS Shows Methanol-Rich Chemistry

ALMA observations reveal the interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS is unusually methanol-rich, with methanol originating from both the nucleus and coma. This chemical fingerprint suggests formation under conditions different from those of Solar System comets and provides a glimpse into the chemistry of distant star systems, with more interstellar visitors anticipated as powerful observatories come online.

via BBC Sky at Night Magazine|
#3iatlas#alma#astrochemistry
Interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS reveals methanol-rich fingerprint from another star
astronomy2 months ago

Interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS reveals methanol-rich fingerprint from another star

ALMA observations show the interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS is unusually rich in methanol, released from both the nucleus and icy grains in the coma. The methanol-to-hydrogen cyanide ratio is higher than in Solar System comets, suggesting 3I/ATLAS formed under colder or chemically different conditions in another planetary system, providing a chemical fingerprint from a different star.

via Space|
#3iatlas#alma#astronomy
JUICE Captures 120+ Images of Interstellar Comet 3I/ATLAS Near the Sun
space2 months ago

JUICE Captures 120+ Images of Interstellar Comet 3I/ATLAS Near the Sun

ESA's JUICE spacecraft captured over 120 JANUS images of interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS on 6 November 2025, revealing a bright coma, a long tail and jets as it passed about 66 million km from the Sun; five of JUICE's instruments (JANUS, MAJIS, SWI, PEP, UVS) gathered data to study the comet’s composition and behavior, with teams continuing analysis as data are processed.

via BBC Sky at Night Magazine|
#3iatlas#astronomy#interstellar-comet
Juice space camera captures interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS in vivid detail
space2 months ago

Juice space camera captures interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS in vivid detail

ESA's Juice mission captured the first image of interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS with its JANUS camera, showing the coma and a long tail seven days after perihelion as Juice sat about 66 million km away. Five instruments (JANUS, MAJIS, SWI, PEP, UVS) collected data to study the comet’s activity and composition, with teams now analyzing the results and planning a late-March synthesis of findings.

via European Space Agency|
#3iatlas#coma-and-tail#interstellar-comet
Solar Oberth Maneuver Could Put a Spacecraft on Track to Intercept Interstellar Comet 3I/ATLAS
astronomy3 months ago

Solar Oberth Maneuver Could Put a Spacecraft on Track to Intercept Interstellar Comet 3I/ATLAS

Space.com reports a team proposes using a solar Oberth maneuver near 3.2 solar radii to launch a ~500 kg spacecraft in 2035, aided by a Jupiter gravity assist and heavy boosters, to perform a high-speed flyby of interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS by around 2085 at about 732 AU from the Sun. The interceptor would be heat-shielded and not intended to enter orbit, making it a close-proximity encounter rather than a rendezvous. While the concept is theoretically feasible and could push the boundaries of solar-system exploration, researchers note more practical, near-term approaches (like ESA’s Comet Interceptor) could target interstellar objects sooner.

via Space|
#3iatlas#astronomy#interstellar-comet
Interstellar Comet 3I/ATLAS Survives Solar Flyby, Revealing Planet-Building Clues
space3 months ago

Interstellar Comet 3I/ATLAS Survives Solar Flyby, Revealing Planet-Building Clues

NASA’s Hubble reobserved interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS during its close solar approach, allowing scientists to track nickel and iron emissions before and after perihelion with unprecedented precision. The study found the observed outer layers are sun-baked crust rather than pristine material, complicating direct measurements of its original metallicity, but SPHEREx data showing dust, water, and organics in the coma, along with the metal measurements, provide valuable insights into how heavy elements behave in other star systems and what this implies about planet formation.

via Space|
#3iatlas#interstellar-comet#iron
SPHEREx Logs Fresh Organic Signals From Interstellar Visitor 3I/ATLAS
space3 months ago

SPHEREx Logs Fresh Organic Signals From Interstellar Visitor 3I/ATLAS

NASA’s SPHEREx observed interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS brighten in December 2025, detecting organic molecules such as methanol, cyanide and methane in a increasingly active coma rich in CO2, CO and H2O. Delayed venting—driven by solar heating penetrating deep into the crust—releases pristine ices and rocky material, highlighting the comet’s processed exterior and complex chemistry, and showcasing SPHEREx’s capability to study such rare, far‑flung visitors.

via NASA Science (.gov)|
#3iatlas#coma#interstellar-comet
TESS probes interstellar visitor 3I/ATLAS to reveal its spin
space3 months ago

TESS probes interstellar visitor 3I/ATLAS to reveal its spin

NASA's exoplanet-hunting telescope TESS observed interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS during Jan. 15–22, compiling a 28‑hour sequence to study the comet’s activity and rotation. The object appeared at about magnitude 11.5, and MIT researcher Daniel Muthukrishna stitched the observations into a video showing its trajectory as it leaves the solar system. Although TESS briefly entered safe mode, causing a time jump, the January data are publicly available, and scientists hope to infer how fast the nucleus spins and how dust and gas are shed from the comet.

via Space|
#3iatlas#comet-activity#interstellar-comet