Astronomy: ESA missions photograph 3I/ATLAS, perhaps NASA's too
The interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS has passed Mars and probes have tried to photograph it. The ESA shows the images, but you have to search for them at NASA.
TGO image of 3I/ATLAS: The interstellar comet is 10,000 to 100,000 times fainter than the usual motifs.
(Image: ESA/TGO/CaSSIS)
ESA's Trace Gas Orbiter has succeeded in taking several images of 3I/ATLAS from Mars' orbit, but the interstellar comet was not discovered on images taken by Mars Express. This was announced by the European Space Agency after only space probes were able to explore the celestial body because it can no longer be seen from Earth. The Mars rover Perseverance may also have photographed the comet, but the largely decommissioned US space agency NASA has not yet commented on the completely automatically published photos. Together, they emphasize the performance of the research instruments in the face of unplanned events.
(Image:Â ESA/TGO/CaSSIS)
As the ESA explains, the Trace Gas Orbiter (TGO) 3I/ATLAS photographed with the Color and Stereo Surface Imaging System (CaSSIS). This is actually designed to image the bright surface of the red planet, which is only a few hundred to a few thousand kilometers away from the device. This is one of the reasons why the interstellar comet can only be made out as a small dot in the image; further analyses will have to show what further insights can be gained from this. The comet has not yet been discovered on the much shorter exposure images from Mars Express, the ESA writes. It also explains that additional spectral analyses were attempted. It is not yet clear whether these were successful.
(Image:Â NASA/JPL-Caltech)
The closest approach of 3I/ATLAS to the Red Planet should also utilize various NASA devices that are in use there. Since 1 October, however, the activities of the space agency have been reduced to a minimum due to the government shutdown in the USA, and there is no news about the missions. However, the images of the Perseverance rover are automatically posted on the internet, and several of them, which may show 3I/ATLAS, stand out. One of them was voted picture of the week by users, but the generated description does not reveal whether it shows the comet. What can be seen is a glowing line, i.e., an object that has moved across the sky during the exposure. What's more, student Simeon SchmauĂź probably discovered 3I/ATLAS on photos taken by the Mastcam.
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3I/ATLAS was discovered at the beginning of July with the Asteroid Terrestrial-impact Last Alert System (ATLAS) in Chile, hence its name. The interstellar comet is only the third ever visitor to our solar system to be discovered during transit. From Earth's perspective, it is currently behind the sun, so only probes elsewhere in the solar system can currently observe it. This is particularly important because it loses a lot of material as it approaches the sun, which reveals its composition. In the coming weeks, more instruments will be directed at it. Later, it should also become visible again from Earth.
(mho)
