Overview
- NASA is reportedly preparing to publish HiRISE images captured near Mars between October 1–7 after a brief U.S. government shutdown delayed their release.
- Harvard astrophysicist Avi Loeb says the Mars-orbiter views could offer roughly three times Hubble’s resolution and better constrain the nucleus diameter, even if it remains unresolved.
- ESA’s ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter imaged 3I/ATLAS in early October and delivered a tenfold improvement in trajectory accuracy, with astrometric data accepted by the IAU Minor Planet Center.
- ESA reports the object will make its closest approach to Earth on December 19 at about 1.8 AU, while it continues toward Jupiter for monitoring by NASA’s Juno and ESA’s JUICE before exiting the solar system in March 2026.
- Public speculation persists, with Avi Loeb criticizing the image delay and astrophysicist Héctor Socas-Navarro noting his €1,000-to-€100 wager against doomsday claims drew no takers.