Overview
- Solar observatories including STEREO, SOHO and GOES-19 reported rapid brightening, a distinctly blue hue and measurable non-gravitational acceleration near perihelion.
- Lowell Observatory released one of the first post-perihelion images, and ground-based viewing is expected to resume from mid-November, with predawn opportunities starting around November 11.
- The closest approach to Earth is slated for December 19 at roughly 167–168 million miles, a distance ESA and NASA say poses no threat.
- Harvard’s Avi Loeb argues the acceleration could signal an internal engine, though he notes a natural comet explanation would require about 15% mass loss—over five billion tons of gas—that should be detectable soon.
- NASA’s Sean Duffy stated there are no aliens and no danger, as missions such as ESA’s JUICE and other spacecraft continue coordinated observations in November; preliminary spectroscopy has reported CO2, CO, carbonyl sulfide and water ice.