Press enter or click to view image in full size (Image credit: Max Barry/Nation States) A simple way to distinguish a spacecraft from a rock is through its large non-gravitational acceleration. A natural icy rock like a comet is propelled by its mass loss. That mass loss can be observed through the cometary plume of gas and dust that surrounds …
Read More »
NASA has revealed the most detailed images yet taken of comet 3I/ATLAS, the interstellar visitor that is currently barreling its way through our solar system. The images, taken by NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope, have enabled astronomers to more accurately estimate the space object’s size — and it looks like it’s smaller than we thought, NASA said in a statement. 3I/ATLAS …
Read More »
Thanks to the Hubble Space Telescope, we now have the sharpest image yet of the interstellar visitor 3I/ATLAS, showing that it is clearly a comet, with a coma filled with dust particles and the first hints of a tail. Of course, 3I/ATLAS is no ordinary comet. Discovered on July 1, 2025 by the Asteroid Terrestrial-impact Last Alert System (ATLAS), 3I/ATLAS …
Read More »
Zoom image will be displayed The Hubble Space Telescope image of 3I/ATLAS shows diffuse emission that extends ahead of the object as it approaches the Sun. The yellow and green arrows mark, respectively, the projected negative heliocentric velocity vector and the projected anti-solar direction. (Image credit: Jewitt et al. 2025) Today, two new papers about 3I/ATLAS were posted online. The …
Read More »
Zoom image will be displayed The interstellar object 3I/ATLAS was discovered in a region of the sky that is crowded with stars, making it difficult to notice. The discovery image by the ATLAS telescope is shown in the inset image bracketed by the red box, which provides a zoomed-in view of the region where 3I/ATLAS was discovered. (Image credit: ATLAS/University …
Read More »
Zoom image will be displayed Intensity maps of 3I/ATLAS from stacking datasets collected on the 4th (top row) and 29th (bottom row) of July 2025, showing no visible cometary tail. The arrows point the directions to the Sun, north, east, and the negative velocity vector of the comet as seen on the plane of the sky. (Image credit: Santana-Ros et …
Read More »
A new pre-print paper involving sometimes-controversial Harvard astronomer Avi Loeb has suggested a way we could intercept interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS as it hurtles through the Solar System. On July 1, 2025, astronomers spotted an object moving through the Solar System at nearly twice the velocity of previous interstellar visitors ‘Oumuamua and Comet Borisov. The object, which was confirmed to be …
Read More »
Zoom image will be displayed The Juno spacecraft. (Image credit: NASA) The interstellar object 3I/ATLAS was discovered on July 1, 2025. It is expected to arrive at a distance of 53.6 million kilometers from Jupiter on March 16, 2026. In a new paper (accessible here) that I wrote with the brilliant Adam Hibberd and Adam Crowl, we show that applying …
Read More »
Zoom image will be displayed (Image credit: NASA) By now, I have a pretty reliable method for gauging whether the scientific study of the new interstellar object 3I/ATLAS went viral. When the carpenter that fixes the porch at my home or the mechanic that changes the oil in my wife’s car, both ask my wife with great interest for the …
Read More »
The alien comet 3I/ATLAS is roughly 7 miles (11.2 kilometers) wide, making it the largest interstellar object ever spotted, according to newly revealed photos from the Vera C. Rubin Observatory. The detailed images, which were captured before the extrasolar entity was officially discovered, highlight the immense power of the record-breaking telescope and demonstrate how valuable it will be for finding …
Read More »