NASA captures Unprecedented Images of Interstellar Comet 3I/ATLAS During Mars Mission
WASHINGTON – NASA’s MAVEN spacecraft, currently orbiting Mars, has captured remarkable images of the interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS, providing scientists with unprecedented data about its composition and activity. The observations, made on September 28, detected the comet’s hydrogen atoms using ultraviolet light.
3I/ATLAS is unique as it originates from outside our solar system, sparking intense interest among astronomers eager to compare its makeup to comets native to our cosmic neighborhood. Initial findings reveal compositional differences: the comet has released more carbon dioxide than water and contains more nickel than iron, distinctions currently under investigation.
The comet also exhibited a surge in activity, prompting some observers to speculate about potential disintegration as it approached the Sun. Though, NASA scientists believe the observed “jets” of material released by the comet indicate particularly active areas on its surface where evaporation is occurring at a higher rate.
“Comets often have ‘jets’ or ‘spiral’ features in their internal atmospheres, related to the parts of their surfaces that are active and releasing gas and dust, so photographing them from a single angle can be challenging to interpret,” explained researcher Kareta.
Currently reappearing on the other side of the Sun for ground-based telescopes, 3I/ATLAS will make its closest approach to Earth on December 19, passing within 270 million kilometers (168 million miles). It will then begin its journey away from our solar system.
“The fact that so many NASA missions have attempted to observe this interstellar visitor should show how seriously we take this opportunity,” Kareta stated. “Interstellar objects like 3I/ATLAS are fundamentally rare, and ISOs as radiant as 3I must be even rarer – this object may well be the ISO we learn the most about in the coming years.”
Scientists estimate the comet is significantly older than anything within our solar system, based on its speed. According to researcher Statler,”3I/ATLAS is not just a window into another solar system,it is a window into a remote past – so remote that it predates even the formation of our Earth and our Sun.”
