European Space Agency's Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer (Juice) Captures Images of Interstellar Comet 3I/ATLAS The European Space Agency's Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer (Juice) recently captured new images of the interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS, which made a brief appearance in our solar system in late 2025. These images, transmitted from the spacecraft’s distant vantage point, provide a rare glimpse into the comet’s fleeting journey through our cosmic neighborhood. The comet, first detected in July 2025 as the third known object originating outside our solar system, has become a subject of intense scientific interest due to its unusual origin and trajectory. NASA officials and scientists have consistently emphasized that 3I/ATLAS is not extraterrestrial in nature but rather a naturally occurring celestial body that formed elsewhere in the galaxy. However, its unique path and composition have sparked fascination among astronomers. The comet’s brief visit to our solar system has allowed researchers to study planetary material that formed under different stellar conditions, offering insights into the diversity of objects in the universe. The Juice orbiter, en route to Jupiter, observed 3I/ATLAS between November 2 and November 25, 2025, during a period when the comet was in a highly active state. This activity followed its closest approach to the sun on October 30, 2025, which likely triggered the release of gas and dust. Due to the spacecraft’s position on the opposite side of the sun from Earth, scientists did not receive the data until February 2026. The first images released by the European Space Agency in late February showed the comet spewing gas and dust from a distance of 41 million miles, with a bright coma and a long tail visible.#nasa #3i_atlas #european_space_agency #jupiter_icy_moons_explorer #jet_propulsion_laboratory
First glimpse of comet 3I/ATLAS from Juice science camera A striking image captured by the science camera on ESA’s Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer (Juice) reveals interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS as it spews dust and gas into space. The image shows the comet’s nucleus, though not directly visible, surrounded by a bright halo of gas known as the coma. A long tail stretches away from the object, with visible rays, jets, streams, and filaments indicating active outgassing. The inset highlights the coma’s structure, with arrows pointing to the comet’s motion (blue) and the Sun’s direction (yellow). The image was taken on 6 November 2025, just seven days after the comet passed its closest point to the Sun. At that time, Juice was approximately 66 million kilometers away from the comet. Over the following weeks, the spacecraft used five science instruments—JANUS, MAJIS, SWI, PEP, and UVS—to study 3I/ATLAS. These observations aim to uncover details about the comet’s composition and behavior, including how it interacts with solar radiation. Juice’s position on the opposite side of the Sun from Earth during much of November posed challenges for data transmission. The spacecraft used its main high-gain antenna as a heat shield, relying on a smaller medium-gain antenna to send data at a reduced rate. This delay meant instrument teams had to wait until recently to access the full dataset, which they are now analyzing intensively. JANUS, the primary camera, captured over 120 images of the comet across a wide range of wavelengths. Scientists are examining these images to determine what they reveal about the comet’s structure and activity. Despite the slow pace of scientific analysis, the data collected is expected to provide valuable insights into the nature of interstellar comets.#3i_atlas #jupiter_icy_moons_explorer #esa #janus #comet
