The European Southern Observatory (ESO) has captured the clearest images to date of the interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS as it moves towards the inner solar system.
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ESO’s Very Large Telescope (VLT) has captured new images of the comet just two days after its discovery, creating a chronogram of its movement across the sky. The final composite image is the deepest image of the interstellar invader to date.
Interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS was discovered on July 1 by the Deep Random Survey telescope in Chile, which is part of the NASA -funded ATLAS (Asteroid Terrestrial-impact Last Alert System) program .
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At the time of its discovery, the comet was approximately 660 million kilometers from the Sun. It was initially named C/2025 N1 (ATLAS), but it was soon confirmed to be an interstellar comet due to its excessive and highly eccentric orbit.
Comet 3I/ATLAS is only the third interstellar object to be detected visiting our solar system, following 1I/'Oumuamua in 2017 and 2I/Borisov in 2019. (The "3I" in its name indicates that it is the third interstellar object.) ESO says that better-quality images of the comet will be available as it approaches the inner parts of the solar system.
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The mysterious object is expected to reach its closest approach to Earth in late October 2025, but at that time it will not be visible to telescopes or astronomers, as it will be behind the Sun. ESO added that the Very Large Telescope (VLT) and other telescopes around the world will continue to observe this transient celestial visitor, with the aim of revealing clues about its structure, composition and origin.
Source: space.com
