NASA released new images on Wednesday interstellar comet, It's only the third visitor ever confirmed from elsewhere in the galaxy, showing the object as a bright point of light surrounded by a hazy halo of gas and dust.
In the long-awaited photographs, the comet, dubbed 3I/ATLAS, appears mostly as an illuminated dot, but its tail is also visible as a faint, elongated smudge in some images.
Comet 3I/ATLAS was first discovered in Julycausing a flurry of interest among scientists and amateur astronomical circles. Much of the intrigue stems from the extremely rare chance of getting a relatively interstellar object close up.
The new images were taken by various NASA spacecraft from late September to mid-October. comet flew through the inner solar system. Until now, they have not been made public due to the government shutdown, which has suspended the work of NASA and other federal agencies.
NASA missions behind the new photos include the PUNCH solar observing satellites, the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory, the Mars Atmosphere and Volatile EvolutionN (MAVEN) mission, and the Perseverance rover on the surface of Mars.
Before 3I/ATLAS, the only two objects ever confirmed to have entered our Solar System from somewhere outside the galaxy were cigar-shaped 'Oumuamua in 2017 and comet 2I/Borisov in 2019.
While 3I/ATLAS's visit to our cosmic environs sparked wild theories that the comet could be extraterrestrial technology or an alien spacecraft, there has been no scientific evidence to back up such claims. At a briefing Wednesday, NASA officials said all observations so far are consistent with what researchers know about comets.
“We certainly didn't see any tech signatures or anything that would lead us to believe that it was anything other than a comet,” said Nicky Fox, associate administrator for NASA's Science Mission Directorate.
However, Fox said the object's interstellar origin means it has intriguing characteristics that could provide new insights into star systems beyond our own.
“We are so tormented by differences,” she said. “This could be something that existed before our solar system. That's so cool.”
In the coming weeks, scientists will have more opportunities to study 3I/ATLAS and better characterize its characteristics, including appearance, speed, chemical composition and possible place of origin.
“This is a new scientific opportunity and a new window into the structure and history of other solar systems,” said Tom Statler, NASA's lead scientist for small solar system bodies. “We’re just beginning to learn about these types of objects and understand the right questions we should be asking about them.”
But tracking where the comet came from remains difficult, Statler said.
Comet 3I/ATLAS reached its closest point to the Sun in late October and is now continuing its journey through the inner Solar System. Due to its proximity to the Sun, it has not been visible to ground-based telescopes in recent weeks, but NASA expects the object to reappear on the other side of the Sun by early December.
On December 19, 3I/ATLAS will fly past Earth. It poses no threat to our planet, according to NASA; During the encounter, the comet will remain at a safe distance of approximately 170 million miles.
Statler said the James Webb Space Telescope is expected to observe the comet in December, and ground-based telescopes such as the Keck Observatory in Hawaii will also image it.
The images released by NASA on Wednesday join a growing collection taken by various spacecraft across the solar system. The European Space Agency published in early October 3I/ATLAS images from the ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiterwhich is in orbit of Mars. The photographs showed a bright white dot moving against the backdrop of vast space.
The probe, jointly operated by ESA and the Russian Federal Space Agency, discovered the comet as it flew past the Red Planet. At the time, it was about 18.6 million miles from the ExoMars Trace Gas orbiter, according to ESA.
NASA is also still processing additional data collected from its fleet of spacecraft since early October.
“There will be more to come,” Statler said. “Not all of the data has yet been transmitted through NASA's Deep Space Network, and many more observations are still in the works.”
