Overview
- The new release compiles views from Hubble, James Webb, Lucy, MAVEN, Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, Perseverance, STEREO-A, PUNCH, SOHO and ESA’s ExoMars orbiter, including close-ups from roughly 19 million miles during the Mars pass.
- Agency leaders said the object shows a coma, tail and volatile-driven activity consistent with comets and reported no technosignatures, rebutting claims that it is artificial.
- Spectra point to carbon dioxide–rich volatiles with water-related signals, carbon monoxide, cyanide and notable nickel lines, broadly similar to known comets yet worthy of further study.
- The comet reached perihelion at the end of October and will make its closest approach to Earth on Dec. 19 at about 170 million miles before departing the solar system.
- NASA noted the federal shutdown delayed public release of some images, and teams plan continued observations as it returns to view, with a proposed Juno look during a Jupiter-region pass in 2026.