NASA has released detailed images of an interstellar comet making a fast and unrepeatable journey through our solar system.
Discovered just a few months ago, the comet known as 3I/Atlas is only the third confirmed object to visit our cosmic neighborhood from another star. It passed harmlessly near Mars last month.
Several NASA spacecraft orbiting or near the Red Planet were able to capture close-up observations as the comet swept by at just 29 million kilometers (18 million miles). Two European Space Agency satellites around Mars also recorded data.
Astronomers worldwide are currently pointing their telescopes toward the comet, which is now about 305 million kilometers (190 million miles) from Earth. Gianluca Masi of the Virtual Telescope Project captured a close-up from Italy on Wednesday. The comet’s closest approach to Earth will be 269 million kilometers (167 million miles) in mid-December, before it heads back into interstellar space never to return.
Named after the Chilean telescope that first detected it, the comet is estimated to be between 440 meters (1,444 feet) and 5.6 kilometers (3.5 miles) wide.
The European Space Agency’s JUICE spacecraft, en route to Jupiter, has been focusing its cameras and scientific instruments on the comet throughout the month, especially after its closest pass to the Sun. However, the scientific team will not receive any of this data until February, as JUICE’s main antenna is currently being used as a thermal shield while the craft travels near the Sun, limiting its ability to transmit information.
The comet can be seen from Earth before dawn using binoculars or a telescope.