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21h ago

Astronomers Track Third Interstellar Comet 3I/ATLAS as It Traverses Solar System

Tracking at 1.6 AU with a faint magnitude of 18, the comet provides a rare opportunity to study interstellar material ahead of its October closest approach

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The comet 3I/ATLAS moves against a backdrop of stars. The ATLAS survey telescope in Rio Hurtado, Chile, was the first to report that the object came from interstellar space.
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Overview

  • 3I/ATLAS was detected on July 1 by the ATLAS survey in Chile with follow-up observations traced back to June 14, and its hyperbolic trajectory from the Sagittarius direction confirms an origin beyond our solar system
  • It is currently moving between the asteroid belt and Jupiter at over 137,000 mph and remains at a safe distance from Earth
  • The comet will reach perihelion just inside Mars’s orbit at about 1.4 AU on October 30 before receding back into interstellar space
  • Despite its faint 18th-magnitude glow, 3I/ATLAS could brighten to around 11th magnitude near perihelion, making it visible to mid-sized telescopes
  • The European Space Agency’s Comet Interceptor mission, set for a 2029 launch, aims to apply lessons from 3I/ATLAS to rendezvous with a future comet or interstellar visitor