New Images of Interstellar Comet 3I/ATLAS Captured by China’s Mars Orbiter
BEIJING – New images of the interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS have been released by the China National Space Management (CNSA), taken by its orbiter currently circling Mars.The images reveal the comet’s nucleus and surrounding coma, a cloud of gas and dust extending thousands of kilometers.
3I/ATLAS is only the third interstellar object detected passing through our solar system, following ‘oumuamua and comet 2I/borisov. Unlike those predecessors, 3I/ATLAS is a comet – a fact confirmed by recent observations of its behavior. Astronomers have been intensely studying the object due to several unusual characteristics, including the development of a rare “anti-tail” and an atypical chemical composition.
Recent observations from NASA indicate the comet has slightly altered its trajectory and appears to have lost mass, consistent wiht typical cometary outgassing as it approaches the Sun. These findings refute earlier, widely-dismissed hypotheses suggesting the object might be an alien spacecraft, a notion rejected by both NASA and the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence (SETI) Institute.
“The images clearly show the comet’s distinctive features, consisting of a nucleus and a surrounding coma, with a diameter reaching several thousand kilometers,” CNSA stated. Researchers are now conducting further analysis of the data collected.
As 3I/ATLAS emerges from behind the Sun, Earth-based telescopes are refocusing on the comet, and observations are anticipated from ESA’s JUICE orbiter, currently en route to Jupiter. These continued studies promise to reveal more about this unique visitor, potentially offering insights into the formation of planetary systems beyond our own, as it completes its first known close approach to a star in billions of years.
