NASA's SPHEREx Mission Spots 3I/ATLAS's Bright Envelope

NASA telescope spots the building blocks for life spewing out of comet 3I/ATLAS

NASA's SPHEREx space telescope detected organic molecules coming off comet 3I/ATLAS as the interstellar visitor made its closest approach to Earth in December.

Jupiter-bound spacecraft turns attention to interstellar object from beyond our solar system

The European Space Agency's billion-dollar Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer has shifted its focus to an extraordinary cosmic intruder, a comet originating from beyond our solar system.Juice, which launched in 2023 on an eight-year voyage to study Jupiter and its potentially life-harbouring moons, found itself ideally positioned to observe the rare visitor.The comet, designated 3I/Atlas, is hurtling through our solar system at approximately 220,000 kil…

Comet 3I/ATLAS is leaving the solar system with a dramatic light show

After months of unprecedented observations, astronomers are bidding goodbye to the beloved comet 3I/ATLAS. First spotted in July 2025, the frigid, dusty space rock is only the third known interstellar object to pass through the solar system, offering researchers the rare opportunity to examine a visitor from deep space. Among other discoveries, scientists have since confirmed that the interstellar comet is the fastest ever recorded as well as co…

NASA's SPHEREx mission spots 3I/ATLAS's bright envelope

NASA's Spectro-Photometer for the History of the Universe, Epoch of Reionization and Ices Explorer (SPHEREx) was built for the ambitious purpose of performing an all-sky survey. The data it collects from more than 450 million galaxies and 100 million stars in the Milky Way over its two-year mission will help scientists explore the origins of the universe and its evolution over time. But that doesn't mean scientists can't occasionally take a brea…

Interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS is spraying water across the solar system

For millions of years, a frozen wanderer drifted between the stars before slipping into our solar system as 3I/ATLAS—only the third known interstellar comet ever spotted. When scientists turned NASA’s Swift Observatory toward it, they caught the first-ever hint of water from such an object, detected through a faint ultraviolet glow of hydroxyl gas. Even more surprising, the comet was blasting out water at a rate of about 40 kilograms per second …

NASA's SPHEREx mission observes interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS brightening in a surprising solar outburst | - THE LOCAL REPORT ARTICLES

Comets usually disappear quietly after passing by the sun. Interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS did not follow the same path. Instead, it burned dramatically as it began to exit the solar system. NASA’s SPHEREx space telescope captured the burst in December 2025 and found water vapor, carbon dioxide and complex organic compounds flowing into space. For astronomers, […] The post NASA’s SPHEREx mission observes interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS brightening in a …