HOUSTON – The Hubble Space Telescope and the Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer have captured fresh images of an interstellar comet as the object nears its closest approach to Earth later this month. Comet 3I/ATLAS has intrigued astronomers because it originated outside of our solar system yet was discovered traveling through our celestial neighborhood in July.
Given that it’s only the third interstellar object ever observed zipping through our solar system, astronomers have directed numerous missions to focus on the comet. Observations have been critical in helping scientists determine the object’s trajectory and have even provided clues about its composition — as a result of the gases that sublimated from the comet during its closest pass by the sun in October. Hubble was one of the first to observe 3I/ATLAS in July shortly after it was discovered, providing the most detailed view of the comet’s teardrop shape at the time. Hubble was one of the first to observe 3I/ATLAS in July shortly after it was discovered, providing the most detailed view of the comet’s teardrop shape at the time. Astronomers spotted 3I/ATLAS with Hubble again on November 30, when it was 178 million miles (286 million kilometers) from Earth, and using the telescope’s Wide Field Camera 3 instrument, captured an even clearer shot. Meanwhile, an image taken by the European Space Agency’s Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer, or Juice, mission en route to study Jupiter and its icy moons, shows intriguing activity around the comet.
The Juice mission will investigate the potential habitability of Jupiter’s three largest moons, Ganymede, Calliston and Europa. The moons likely host subsurface oceans beneath their icy crusts that could support life.
But first, Juice has to reach Jupiter. The mission launched in April 2023 and is expected to arrive at its destination in July 2031. And at the beginning of November, Juice was in a prime position to observe 3I/ATLAS from about 41 million miles (66 million kilometers) away from the comet. The spacecraft used five of its scientific instruments, as well as its onboard Navigation Camera, or NavCam, to glimpse the comet.
