NASA has unveiled stunning photographs of an interstellar comet passing through our solar system. Dubbed 3I/Atlas, this marks only the third confirmed instance of an object entering our solar system from another star. The images of the comet were showcased during a press briefing held by the space agency earlier this week.
Various NASA spacecraft positioned near Mars managed to capture images of the comet as it journeyed through space, coming within approximately 18 million miles of these spacecraft. Currently, the comet is situated about 190 million miles away from Earth and is projected to approach as close as 167 million miles in mid-December before venturing back into interstellar space.
Gianluca Masi from the Virtual Telescope Project also honed in on the comet, which was initially spotted this summer, during an observation from Italy. People on Earth can also catch a glimpse of the comet in the early morning sky using binoculars.
Tom Statler, the lead scientist for solar system small bodies at NASA, conveyed to Live Science that the images remain largely unprocessed and hold observations that the scientific community will delve into for years to come.
Named after the telescope in Chile that first sighted it, 3I/Atlas has sparked online conspiracy theories suggesting it could be a spacecraft. Harvard astrophysicist Avi Loeb initially proposed this notion but later acknowledged on Medium in late October that the object is most likely a naturally occurring comet.
Despite generating curiosity online, even prompting celebrity Kim Kardashian to inquire about it, NASA Acting Administrator Sean Duffy, appointed by President Donald Trump, clarified that there are no aliens or threats to Earth from the comet. During the recent press conference, NASA Associate Administrator Amit Kshatriya dispelled rumors about 3I/Atlas’ origins, affirming that all indications point to it being a natural comet from another star system.
The European Space Agency’s Juice spacecraft has been focusing its cameras and instruments on the comet throughout this month, anticipating its heightened activity. However, scientists may not receive the observations until February as the spacecraft’s primary antenna is currently serving as a heat shield while in proximity to the Sun, limiting data transmission, as stated by the agency.