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4h ago

NASA Sets Nov. 19 Briefing on 3I/ATLAS as New Data Sharpen Its Path

Scientists say its measured accelerations fit natural comet outgassing, with Mars‑orbiter imaging tightening orbit predictions by about tenfold.

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ESA's ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter was repurposed to monitor 3I/ATLAS during in Mars flyby on Oct. 3. The spacecraft performed well, even though it was not designed to perform tasks like this.
Harvard astronomer Avi Loeb is still not giving up hope that 3I/ATLAS could be an alien mothership and says it's too early to call it.

Overview

  • NASA will release multi‑mission imagery of the interstellar comet at 3 p.m. EST on Wednesday from Goddard, streaming on NASA+, the agency site, the app, YouTube and Amazon Prime.
  • The Virtual Telescope Project is providing real‑time views using robotic telescopes in Manciano, Italy, with the livestream scheduled for 11:15 p.m. ET Tuesday.
  • ESA’s ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter captured early‑October images near Mars that cut trajectory uncertainty roughly 10×, in the first MPC‑accepted astrometry from a planetary orbiter.
  • Hubble previously imaged a dust cocoon around the nucleus, and additional spacecraft and ground telescopes (including JWST and Mars orbiters) contributed data slated for public release.
  • NASA says 3I/ATLAS poses no threat, with closest Earth approach on Dec. 19 at about 170 million miles, as most experts interpret observed activity as standard cometary behavior despite public speculation.