Not an alien spacecraft: Nasa releases images of interstellar comet that is going back home

It’s true what they say, the outer space works in wondrous ways. Nasa, with its almost-daily drops of celestial bodies’ pictures, has released close-up images of a rare interstellar comet that is making a single pass through the solar system.

The comet, called 3I/ATLAS, can be seen moving through space about 190 million miles from Earth. The picture was taken in Italy’s Manciano.

The comet was first discovered in July this year and has been captured in multiple photographs since then. In early August, images were released showing the comet from a distance of approximately 277 million miles. A month ago, two Mars orbiters took images of the comet, which appeared as a bright, fuzzy white dot about 18.6 million miles from Mars.

What makes 3I/ATLAS special is that it is only the third interstellar comet confirmed to have entered our solar system. Skygazers can catch the comet from Earth in the predawn sky by using binoculars or a telescope.

NASA’s acting astrophysics director, Shawn Domagal-Goldman, told The Associated Press, “Everyone that is in control of a telescope wants to look at it because it’s a fascinating and rare opportunity.”

The comet is expected to come closest to Earth on December 19, with its proximity reaching 170 million miles from our planet, which is about double the distance between Earth and the Sun.

ESA’s JUICE spacecraft, en route to Jupiter, has been focusing its cameras and scientific instruments on the comet throughout the month, especially after its closest approach to the Sun. However, scientists won’t receive any of these observations until February, as JUICE’s main antenna is being used as a heat shield while it is near the Sun, which is limiting data transmission.

The comet, named after the telescope in Chile that first detected it, is estimated to range in size from 1,444 feet to 3.5 miles in diameter. Observations suggest that this unusually fast-moving comet may have originated from a star system older than our own. “Which gives me goosebumps to think about,” said NASA scientist Tom Statler.

“That means that 3I/ATLAS is not just a window into another solar system, it’s a window into the deep past and so deep in the past that it predates even the formation of our Earth and our sun,” Statler said.