Comet 3I/Atlas to arrive, but does not pose a danger to Earth. NASA has published new images of the interstellar object discovered last July by the Atlas telescope in Chile: the shots were captured by probes orbiting Mars.
The new images of comet 3I/Atlas
The Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) took a close-up of the comet, while the Maven (Mars Atmosphere and Volatile Evolution) orbiter captured ultraviolet images. These new photos have made it possible to confirm that it is in fact a comet from another star system and will allow scientists to better estimate its size. During a livestream briefing, Amit Kshatriya, the space agency’s associate administrator, reiterated: “This object is a comet. It behaves like a comet and all evidence indicates that it is one.” As also underlined by Nicky Fox, head of NASA’s Science Mission Directorate, it does not represent a danger for our planet: “It will not come close to Earth or other planets in the solar system”.
On October 2, the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter observed the comet from 30 million kilometers away, with one of the closest views expected to be obtained from any NASA space probe or ground-based telescopes. Captured at a scale of about 30 kilometers per pixel, 3I/Atlas appears as a white sphere surrounded by a cloud of dust and ice called a coma.
But will his passage be visible? According to Mario Giuseppe Guarcello, INAF researcher at the Astronomical Observatory of Palermo, on December 9th “the comet will be 1,838 astronomical units from the Earth. It will be visible in good light conditions between the celestial West and the South West between the constellations of Virgo and Leo”. “It is proceeding at a speed compared to the Sun equal to 58 km per second – the expert explained to Agi -. After the encounter with the Earth, which given the distances in the field offers no cause for concern, it will continue its journey, leaving the solar system again and will be lost in the galaxy”.
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