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3w ago

Hubble and Rubin Data Clash on 3I/ATLAS Size as Alien-Spacecraft Theory Lingers

3I/ATLAS heads toward its late-October perihelion en route to a November flyby of Mars

El objeto 3I/ATLAS fue identificado por un sistema financiado por la NASA y podría acercarse a la Tierra en noviembre de 2025.
Image
Imagen difundida por NASA/Agencia Espacial Europea que muestra una imagen captada por el telescopio Hubble del cometa 3I/ATLAS el 21 de julio del 2025, cuando el cometa estaba a 277 millones de millas de la Tierra. (NASA/Agencia Espacial Europea via AP)
Image

Overview

  • Hubble images released on August 7 revealed a dust coma and tail and constrained the nucleus to between 320 meters and 5.6 kilometers in diameter.
  • Data from the Vera C. Rubin Observatory suggest an approximate 11-kilometer nucleus, which would make 3I/ATLAS the largest interstellar object recorded.
  • NASA and the European Space Agency classify 3I/ATLAS as a natural comet and confirm it poses no threat to Earth.
  • Avi Loeb and two colleagues proposed that 3I/ATLAS could be an alien mothership, a view challenged by Oxford astronomer Chris Lintott.
  • 3I/ATLAS will reach perihelion on October 30 and follow with a close pass near Mars in November 2025.