Overview

• An international team outlines using Psyche, Mars orbiters, JUICE and solar observatories, with potential flythroughs by Europa Clipper, Lucy and Hera to sample the coma.
• Hubble imaging on July 21 resolved an icy nucleus surrounded by a dust cloud with a tail exceeding 25,000 kilometers.
• Perihelion is forecast for October 29 between the orbits of Mars and Earth, with the closest Earth approach around December 19 at about 269 million kilometers.
• The object is only the third confirmed interstellar visitor, discovered by the ATLAS survey in early July with precovery images back to June 14 confirming a hyperbolic pass.
• Speculation that the body could be artificial has been publicized by Avi Loeb, but researchers cited in current reporting describe the evidence as insufficient and favor a natural origin.