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3w ago

Water Vapor Spotted in Tail of Interstellar Comet 3I/ATLAS

NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter will study the comet at roughly 30 million kilometers from Mars in early October alongside ESA’s Trace Gas Orbiter.

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Overview

  • July Hubble images revealed a luminous dust coma with first hints of water vapor released by the comet.
  • Analysis of those observations constrains the nucleus diameter at no more than 5.6 kilometers and possibly as small as 320 meters.
  • Traveling at about 210,000 kilometers per hour, 3I/ATLAS is the fastest object recorded in the solar system and the third confirmed interstellar visitor following 1I/’Oumuamua and 2I/Borisov.
  • Earth-based telescopes will track 3I/ATLAS until mid-August before solar proximity halts observations.
  • During its October approach, MRO’s HiRISE camera and instruments on the Trace Gas Orbiter will capture detailed views when the comet passes approximately 30 million kilometers from Mars.