US EditionNewest 3I/ATLAS Images Reveal Mysterious Interstellar Visitor in “Challenging Observation” by ESA Spacecraft
The European Space Agency spacecraft captured rare images of the third confirmed interstellar comet passing through the solar system at 137,000 mph, researchers said.
- On Oct. 3, 2025, the ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter photographed interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS during its closest pass by Mars, the Red Planet.
- NASA's Asteroid Terrestrial-impact Last Alert System telescope discovered 3I/ATLAS on July 1 while it traveled about 137,000 mph, confirming it as the third known interstellar comet.
- With 11.36 micro-radian resolution, Colour and Stereo Surface Imaging System produced 340 km-per-pixel images showing a roughly 680 km inner region, but the nucleus diameter estimate 5–46 km remained unresolved.
- ESA released new images of 3I/ATLAS highlighting study opportunities and observation challenges, while researchers await higher-resolution HiRISE imagery from NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter and JUICE will observe the comet Nov. 2–Nov. 25.
- On Oct. 30 the comet will come within 130 million miles of the Sun, and researchers say 3I/ATLAS could be more than 7 billion years old, passing about 170 million miles from Earth.
15 Articles
15 Articles
New images of comet 3I/ATLAS arrive from Mars, which was first detected on July 1, 2025 by the Astrooid Earth Impact Alert System (ATLAS) telescope in Rio Hurtado, Chile. It was soon confirmed that it came from interstellar space, from beyond the solar system, and now a Martian probe from the European Space Agency (ESA) has managed to photograph new details of it. It is the third of these visiting space objects that has detected science, after t…
Check out the interstellar comet that just whizzed past Mars
As a visitor from another solar system made its closest approach to Mars on Friday, two spacecraft in orbit around the Red Planet turned to look. The European Space Agency's ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter and Mars Express took photos of the interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS as it passed within 19 million miles in space. That might seem extremely far, but astronomers say it's a closeup on the cosmic scale. Only one of them got lucky during the photo session…
The European orbiters ExoMars and Mars Express observed the interstellar visitor 3I/Atlas from Mars as it approached the planet to within 30 million kilometers.
The European ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter (TGO), belonging to the European Space Agency (ESA), photographed the 3I/ATLAS interstellar object at its transition by approaching the planet Mars, using the CaSSIS (Colour and stereo Surface Imaging...
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