Overview
- Astronomers using South Africa’s MeerKAT radio telescope made the first radio detection from 3I/ATLAS on October 24, identifying hydroxyl absorption lines.
- Hydroxyl arises when sunlight breaks apart water vapor in a comet’s coma, providing direct chemical evidence of water-driven outgassing.
- Earlier September radio attempts produced non-detections, with the successful observation coming just after perihelion as the object reappeared from behind the Sun.
- Post-perihelion imaging showed sprawling jets, an anti-tail nearly two million miles long, and unusually high mass loss that researchers are continuing to study.
- Avi Loeb’s suggestions of fragmentation or artificial activity are disputed by other astronomers, and the comet is projected to pass safely about 170 million miles from Earth on December 19 with further observations planned, including Juno near Jupiter next March.