Overview
- 3I/ATLAS will make its closest approach to Earth on December 19 at roughly 270 million kilometers (168 million miles).
- ESA’s XMM-Newton observed the object for about 20 hours on December 3, detecting a low-energy X-ray glow produced by solar-wind charge exchange.
- X-ray measurements uniquely probe molecular hydrogen and nitrogen that are hard to see in optical and ultraviolet data, complementing Hubble, JWST, SPHEREx and JUICE observations.
- Gemini North color images taken November 26 show a faint green coma from diatomic carbon emissions, captured during public Shadow the Scientists sessions.
- ALMA has detected significant methanol and hydrogen cyanide, while NASA and most astronomers describe 3I/ATLAS as a natural comet despite publicized artificial-origin speculation.