3I/ATLAS Archives - Page 10 of 10 - Astrobiology

Top view of the Milky Way galaxy showing the estimated orbits of both our Sun and the 3I/ATLAS comet. 3I/ATLAS is shown in red dashed lines, and the Sun is shown in yellow dotted lines. The large extent of 3I’s orbit into the outer thick disk is clear, while the Sun stays nearer the core of the galaxy. Credit M. Hopkins/Ōtautahi-Oxford team. Base map: ESA/Gaia/DPAC, Stefan Payne-Wardenaar, CC-BY-SA 4.0 Licence type Attribution (CC BY 4.0)

Astrochemistry, Astrogeology, Astronomy & Telescopes, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Icy Worlds, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Interstellar, Press Release

Interstellar Object 3I/ATLAS May Be The Oldest Comet Ever Seen

by Keith CowingJuly 12, 2025July 12, 2025

A mystery interstellar object discovered last week is likely to be the oldest comet ever seen – possibly predating our solar system by more than three billion years, researchers say.

The g-r vs. r-i colours of 3I/ATLAS from our measurements compared with solar system objects and other ISOs (Meech et al. 2017; Bolin et al. 2020). We use the scheme of Ivezić et al. (2002) where blue dots correspond to C-complex asteroids, red dots correspond to S-Complex asteroids, and green dots correspond to V-complex asteroids. We also plot the g-r vs. r-i colours of active comets from Solontoi et al. (2012) and trans-Neptunian objects from Ofek (2012). -- astro-ph.IM

Astrochemistry, Astrogeology, Astronomy & Telescopes, Comets and Asteroids, Icy Worlds, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Interstellar, Status Report

Interstellar Comet 3I/ATLAS: Discovery And Physical Description

by Keith CowingJuly 11, 2025July 12, 2025

We describe the physical characteristics of interstellar comet 3I\ATLAS, discovered on 2025 July 1 by the Asteroid Terrestrial-impact Last Alert System.

Combined white light image of 3I/ATLAS, created by median stacking white light images produced by collapsing in wavelength individual data cubes. The field of view displayed is 40" × 40". Intensities are in units of 10−20 erg/s/cm2. -- astro-ph.EP

Astrochemistry, Astrogeology, Astronomy & Telescopes, Comets and Asteroids, Icy Worlds, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Interstellar, Status Report

Initial VLT/MUSE Spectroscopy Of The Interstellar Object 3I/ATLAS

by Keith CowingJuly 8, 2025

The interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS is only the third interstellar object to be discovered. Pre-perihelion measurements provide a unique opportunity to study its activity and composition, which may alter as it […]

Interstellar Comet 3I/ATLAS -- ESA / Las Cumbres Observatory

Astrochemistry, Astrogeology, Astronomy & Telescopes, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Icy Worlds, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Interstellar, Press Release

ESA Observes Interstellar Comet 3I/ATLAS

by Keith CowingJuly 5, 2025July 12, 2025

Astronomers from ESA’s Near-Earth Object Coordination Centre (NEOCC), part of the Agency’s Planetary Defence Office, made these observations of the newly discovered interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS on 2 July 2025.

Cutout images from the first and fourth discovery observations of 3I/ATLAS from the ATLAS Chile, spanning approximately one hour. 3I/ATLAS is moving at 0.49 deg/day against the stellar background. The cardinal directions and direction of motion are indicated with arrows, and 3I/ATLAS identified within the red circle. (a) Unsubtracted image from 05:15:11 UT; (b) Unsubtracted image from 06:20:31 UT. -- astro-ph.IM

Astrochemistry, Astrogeology, Astronomy & Telescopes, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Comets and Asteroids, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Interstellar, Status Report, Stellar Cartography

Discovery And Preliminary Characterization Of A Third Interstellar Object: 3I/ATLAS

by Keith CowingJuly 4, 2025July 25, 2025

We report initial observations aimed at the characterization of a third interstellar object candidate.

This diagram shows the trajectory of interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS as it passes through the solar system. It will make its closest approach to the Sun in October. NASA/JPL-Caltech

Astronomy & Telescopes, Comets and Asteroids, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Interstellar, Press Release

NASA Discovers Interstellar Comet 3I/ATLAS Moving Through Our Star System

by Keith CowingJuly 3, 2025July 3, 2025

On July 1, the NASA-funded ATLAS (Asteroid Terrestrial-impact Last Alert System) survey telescope in Rio Hurtado, Chile, first reported observations of a comet that originated from interstellar space. Arriving from […]