The European Southern Observatory (ESO) has captured the clearest images yet of the interstellar visitor 3I/ATLAS as it moves inward through the solar system. The new images were taken just two days after the comet’s discovery and offer a deeper view of this rare celestial object.
Comet 3I/ATLAS was discovered on July 1 by the Deep Random Survey remote telescope in Chile, part of the NASA-funded ATLAS (Asteroid Terrestrial-impact Last Alert System) telescope. The comet is only the third interstellar object detected visiting our solar system, after 1I’Oumuamua in 2017 and 2I/Borisov in 2019.
The ESO’s Very Large Telescope (VLT) captured a timelapse of the comet over the course of 13 minutes, providing the clearest view yet of this rare visitor. The resulting stacked image is the deepest view ever taken of an interstellar object.
According to the ESO, better quality images of the comet will become available as it makes its way into the inner solar system. The enigmatic object is expected to make its closest approach to Earth in late October 2025, but it won’t be visible from our planet at that point due to its position behind the sun.
The ESO will continue to observe the comet using VLT and telescopes around the globe, hoping to uncover clues about its structure, composition, and origin. This observation provides an exciting opportunity for scientists to study this rare celestial visitor in greater detail.
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Source: https://www.space.com/astronomy/comets/see-interstellar-comet-3i-atlas-zoom-through-solar-system-in-new-telescope-imagery-video