Press enter or click to view image in full size An image of the interstellar object 3I/ATLAS from the Two-meter Twin Telescope in the Canary Islands, Spain. The image, composed of 159 exposures of 50 seconds each, was taken on August 2, 2025. It shows a faint jet pointed towards the Sun (marked by a purple line), extending out to …
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Astronomers analyzing observations of interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS using the W. M. Keck Observatory have discovered further unusual features of our third interstellar visitor, and confirmed the presence of a rare “anti-solar tail”. On July 1, 2025, astronomers at the Asteroid Terrestrial-impact Last Alert System (ATLAS) spotted an object making its way through our Solar System. That’s no surprise, given the …
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Press enter or click to view image in full size An image of 3I/ATLAS on August 24, 2025, taken by the Keck Cosmic Web Imager (KCWI) on the Keck II telescope in Hawaii at the wavelength range of 0.3425 to 0.55 micrometers. The yellow arrow points in the direction of the Sun. (Credit: W. B. Hoogendam et al. 2025) A …
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Comet 3I/Atlas continues to be full of surprises. As well as being only the third interstellar object ever detected, new analysis shows it is producing hydroxyl (OH) emissions, with these compounds betraying the presence of water on its surface. This discovery was made by a team of researchers at Auburn University in Alabama using NASA’s Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory, and …
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In early October, astronomers spotted something ancient and mysterious gliding past Mars. It was not a spacecraft or satellite, but a visitor from beyond our Solar System – an interstellar comet. Comet 3I/ATLAS is only the third interstellar comet ever observed. These types of comets are true outsiders from deep space. They were born around a completely different star, long …
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Press enter or click to view image in full size The men’s 100-meter dash final at the London 2012 Olympic Games. (Credit: Wikimedia) As the interstellar object 3I/ATLAS passes through our cosmic backyard, bounded by the orbits of Mars and Earth around the Sun during the month of October 2025, the time is ripe to evaluate its gravity. A good …
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Comet 3I/ATLAS is the third interstellar visitor and continues to be a treasure trove of information about the condition of its formation. As it speeds through the Solar System, telescopes have been pointed at it, revealing new tidbits about this fascinating space rock. Just recently, we have learned about the unusual ratio of nickel to iron (both common in comets); …
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A rocky visitor from beyond our solar system is leaking water like a “fire hose running at full blast,” a new study reports. Using NASA’s Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory, scientists have for the first time detected the chemical fingerprint of water spilling from interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS, only the third known object from another star system ever observed passing through our …
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Interstellar object 3I/ATLAS is on the opposite side of the sun from Earth – but several spacecraft are in the perfect position to get a closer look. As 3I/ATLAS warps and grows the closer it gets to our solar system’s star, public fascination with the unusual cosmic outsider only seems to become stronger. The object is one of only three space objects originating from …
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The interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS began blasting water “like a fire hose” before it was anywhere near the sun, according to a recent study. Researchers observed the comet scattering water unusually early in a discovery that sheds light on how the building blocks of life are distributed across other planetary systems. Initial James Webb Space Telescope observations have suggested that 3I/ATLAS …
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