Overview

• Gemini North’s GMOS-N captured detailed views of the hyperbolic comet revealing its icy nucleus, compact coma and emerging tail.
• Preliminary measurements indicate a roughly 12-mile nucleus, making 3I/ATLAS larger than the two previous interstellar visitors.
• Currently about 465 million kilometers from Earth and posing no threat, the comet is headed for perihelion on October 30 inside Mars’s orbit.
• Coordinated observations by the International Gemini Observatory, NSF NOIRLab and global teams will analyze the comet’s composition, outgassing and trajectory.
• Scientists expect campaign data to deepen understanding of primordial materials and guide future interstellar object searches with the Rubin Observatory.