Overview
- JPL navigation analysis by Davide Farnocchia reports measurable acceleration not explained by gravity following the object’s perihelion passage.
- Observations show a rapid post‑perihelion brightening with estimates of more than 13% mass loss, yet imaging has not revealed the large gas and dust coma that would typically accompany it.
- NASA and ESA say there is no impact risk as the one‑time interstellar visitor will pass about 270 million kilometers from Earth on December 19 along a hyperbolic trajectory.
- A broad observing effort is underway, with Solar Orbiter, SOHO, and Parker Solar Probe collecting data, China’s Tianwen‑1 releasing high‑resolution images, and ESA’s JUICE allocating observation time from November 2 to 25.
- Spectral reports point to unusually low water and relatively high nickel signatures, while proposals of an artificial origin remain a minority view rejected by major agencies.