Overview
- Researchers observed jet features precessing about every 7 hours 45 minutes inside a rare sunward anti-tail, from which they infer a nucleus rotation period near 15 hours 30 minutes.
- NASA’s Parker Solar Probe captured WISPR images of 3I/ATLAS from October 18 to November 5 when it was too close to the Sun to be seen from Earth, with final calibration and processing underway.
- The Allen Telescope Array’s July 2 search reported no localized radio signals from the object after extensive RFI filtering, setting upper limits of roughly 10–110 watts across 1–9 GHz.
- Millimeter observations detected methanol and hydrogen cyanide in the coma, and scientists assess any cyanide-bearing dust or gas reaching Earth as negligible given the distance and atmospheric shielding.
- 3I/ATLAS is forecast to pass about 33.3 million miles from Jupiter on March 16, 2026, presenting a key opportunity to refine trajectory and activity models with additional observations.