All articles tagged with #comet composition
Comet 3I/ATLAS, an interstellar object, will make its closest approach to Earth on December 19, 2025, providing astronomers a rare opportunity to study its composition and learn about planet formation in other star systems, as it offers insights into the distant regions where such comets form.
Comet 3I/ATLAS, the third known interstellar object to enter our Solar System, reached perihelion on October 30, 2025. Observations revealed its active sublimation of CO₂ with minimal water vapor, unusual metal ratios, and non-gravitational forces affecting its trajectory. The data from this brief visit enhances understanding of interstellar bodies and prepares for future interstellar missions.
Interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS reached perihelion, brightening significantly and revealing unique properties such as a high carbon dioxide to water ratio, providing rare insights into other solar systems. Observations suggest it brightened rapidly due to unusual nucleus characteristics, and it will be visible again in late 2023 as it moves away from the Sun, with potential further study from spacecraft.
The European Space Agency is utilizing Mars and Jupiter spacecraft to observe interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS as it passes through our solar system, providing valuable data on its composition and activity during its closest approach to the sun, which could reveal insights into the nature of interstellar objects and their similarities to solar system comets.
Multiple powerful telescopes including Hubble, SPHEREx, JWST, and TESS have observed interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS, revealing it to be unusually active with a high proportion of carbon dioxide in its coma, suggesting unique formation conditions or internal composition. The comet's early activity at a greater distance from the Sun than typical comets and its potential for further observation make it a fascinating object of study.
NASA's James Webb Space Telescope observed interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS and found it has an unusually high CO2 to water ratio, suggesting unique origins or exposure to radiation, making it potentially the largest and oldest interstellar object ever observed, with mysterious origins still under investigation.