Interstellar visitor reappears from the sun's shadow with baffling glow unlike natural comets

By STACY LIBERATORE, US SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY EDITOR

A mysterious interstellar visitor has emerged from behind the sun, glowing in a way that has left scientists stunned.

The comet, which is not visible from terrestrial telescopes, appears to have unusual chemistry. It passed through solar conjunction with Earth - meaning it was hidden behind the sun - on October 21.

It is exciting for scientists because, unlike other comets, it does not orbit the sun.

The object, named as 3I/ATLAS, made its closest approach to it on Wednesday, observed by three NASA spacecraft.

Data showed that it brightened at a rate about seven times faster than typical comets as it reached the sun. 

Researchers who captured the observations noted: 'The reason for 3I/ATLAS's rapid brightening, which far exceeds the brightening rate of most Oort cloud comets at similar distances from the sun, remains unclear.' 

Even more puzzling, the comet now appears distinctly bluer, a reversal from its previously reddish hue.

Scientists speculate that the blue glow likely comes from gas emissions, including carbon molecules (C2) and other compounds, rather than just sunlight reflecting off dust. 

The object made its closest approach to the sun on Wednesday, as seen by NASA spacecraft

The study, conducted by researchers from the Lowell Observatory in Arizona and the US Naval Research Laboratory in Washington, DC, pulled data from the STEREO‑A (Solar TErrestrial RElations Observatory) and SOHO (Solar and Heliospheric Observatory).

They also used a weather satellite, called GOES‑19, carrying a coronagraph, a device which helped capture the comet's brightness and color while it was hidden behind the Sun from Earth-based telescopes.

It detected a glowing plume extending nearly 186,000 miles around the object, comparable to the carbon dioxide halo observed months earlier.

The satellite revealed that 3I/ATLAS is enveloped in a huge, fuzzy coma, roughly half as wide as the full moon. 

Ground-based telescopes had trouble observing 3I/ATLAS. At the same time, it was very close to the sun, but radio observations were able to detect emissions from the comet, showing it was producing huge amounts of water-related molecules. 

The production rate of these molecules increased sharply as the comet approached the Sun, following a pattern similar to the rapid brightening observed in optical images. 

The comet is expected to return to visibility in twilight and night skies during November and December, allowing ground-based telescopes to study it in much greater detail. 

Early analysis suggests 3I/ATLAS will emerge considerably brighter than before.

Its light was increasing at an unusually rapid pace, which could be due to its chemical make-up

Scientists still do not fully understand why it brightened so fast, but it may be related to unusual activity from gases like carbon dioxide (CO2) and water (H2O), or unique properties of the comet's nucleus, such as its composition, shape, or structure. 

Observations from spacecraft also show that 3I/ATLAS has a large, fuzzy coma about half the size of the full moon, and its light is distinctly bluer than the sun, likely due to gas emissions from molecules like C2 and Amino groups, rather than just reflected sunlight from dust.

Its brightness increased much faster than typical comets, with a measured rate far exceeding the standard for Oort cloud comets, and the post-perihelion behavior remains uncertain; it could continue brightening, level off, or fade quickly. 

Harvard professor Avi Loeb, who has been studying the object for months, said: 'This unfavorable geometry, a possible hint of design, placed the comet within the fields of view of several space-based solar coronagraphs and heliospheric imagers, allowing continuous observation during its final approach to perihelion.' 

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30-10-2025 om 21:07 geschreven door peter  

Astronomers have released a spectacular new image of the Milky Way, providing a glimpse of our galaxy in unprecedented detail.

The photograph, which took 18 months and over 40,000 hours to construct, is the largest low–frequency radio colour image of the Milky Way ever assembled.

It captures the Southern Hemisphere view, revealing it across a wide range of radio wavelengths – or 'colours' of radio light.

And it provides astronomers with new ways to explore the birth, evolution and death of stars in our galaxy.

The stunning picture was created by astronomers from the International Centre of Radio Astronomy Research (ICRAR).

'This vibrant image delivers an unparalleled perspective of our galaxy at low radio frequencies,' Silvia Mantovanini, a PhD student at the Curtin University of ICRAR said.

'It provides valuable insights into the evolution of stars, including their formation in various regions of the galaxy, how they interact with other celestial objects, and ultimately their demise.'

Ms Mantovanini constructed the image with the help of supercomputers which processed and compiled data from two extensive surveys carried out by the Murchison Widefield Array telescope in Western Australia.

The new spectacular image of the Milky Way, providing a glimpse of our galaxy in unprecedented detail

The photograph, which took 18 months and over 40,000 hours to construct, is the largest low–frequency radio colour image of the Milky Way ever assembled

It provides astronomers with new ways to explore the birth, evolution and death of stars in our galaxy

The astronomers focused on radio waves because they reveal a different part of the universe that visible light cannot show – allowing them to see through gas and dust clouds to observe the birth of stars and the structures of galaxies.

When compared to images constructed from visible light, the radio frequency photograph reveals the galaxy in much clearer, more colourful detail.

The new image offers twice the resolution, 10 times the sensitivity and covers twice the area compared to a previous radio wavelength image released in 2019.

This significant improvement in resolution, sensitivity and sky coverage allows for a more detailed and comprehensive study of the Milky Way, the team said.

Ms Mantovanini's research focuses on supernova remnants, the expanding clouds of gas and energy left behind when a star explodes at the end of its life.

Although hundreds of these remnants have been discovered so far, astronomers suspect that thousands more are waiting to be found.

The image allows them to distinguish between the gas surrounding new stars and that left behind by dead ones, revealing clearer patterns in the cosmic landscape.

'You can clearly identify remnants of exploded stars, represented by large red circles,' she said. 'The smaller blue regions indicate stellar nurseries where new stars are actively forming.'

Left: The centre of our Milky Way in radio colour. Right: The same area of sky as seen in visible light

Antennas from the MWA telescope, on Wajarri Country in Western Australia, which carried out the two extensive surveys

 The image may also help unravel the mysteries surrounding pulsars in our Galaxy.

By measuring the brightness of pulsars at different GLEAM–X frequencies, astronomers hope to gain a deeper understanding of how these enigmatic objects emit radio waves and where they exist within our galaxy.

Associate Professor Natasha Hurley–Walker from the same ICRAR team, who is the principal investigator of the GLEAM–X survey, emphasised how this is a big step forward in studying the Milky Way's structure. 

'This low–frequency image allows us to unveil large astrophysical structures in our Galaxy that are difficult to image at higher frequencies,' she said. 

'No low–frequency radio image of the entire Southern Galactic Plane has been published before, making this an exciting milestone in astronomy.'

The new image was published in the journal Publications of the Astronomical Society of Australia.

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29-10-2025 om 22:48 geschreven door peter  

Everything we know about 3I/ATLAS: The mysterious object speeding through our Solar System

While most scientists believe it’s a natural comet, one Harvard astronomer has suggested its unusual features could hint at signs of alien technology.

3I/ATLAS is largely believed to be a comet - it has a tail, is brightening as it approaches the Sun, and shows signs of dust and gas being released.

Its name was derived from its origins: “3” for the third interstellar object found, “I” for interstellar, and “ATLAS” for the telescope network that spotted it.

What makes it extraordinary is where it came from. Its speed and trajectory show that it’s not gravitationally bound to the Sun - meaning it must have originated in another star system and wandered into ours by chance.

How fast is it travelling and where is it going?

According to astronomers, 3I/ATLAS is racing through space at more than 200,000 km/h (around 61 km per second), and its speed is increasing as it approaches the Sun.

It’s following a hyperbolic orbit, which means that it’s moving too quickly to be captured by the Sun’s gravity.

“It’s going to kind of cruise through the inner solar system – in between Mars and Earth’s orbit – and then it will fly past the sun," Con Stoitsis, comet and meteor director at the Astronomical Society of Victoria, told The Guardian.

"This one is on what we call a hyperbolic orbit. So it’s not gravitationally bound to the sun. It’s travelling much too fast, and so it will just fly out the other side of the solar system," he added.

According to NASA, the closest 3I/Atlas will come to Earth is about 270 million kilometres.

Could it be something more than a natural object?

For most astronomers, 3I/ATLAS is an exciting but natural phenomenon. But one prominent scientist - Professor Avi Loeb, a theoretical astrophysicist at Harvard University - has advocated the need for a closer examination of the object.

Through the Galileo Project, which investigates potential evidence of extraterrestrial technology, Loeb has been asking provocative, eyebrow-raising questions about 3I/ATLAS’s origin.

In a series of scientific essays published on Medium, he argues that scientists should still consider whether the object could be an alien technological - an artificial probe or artefact from another civilisation.

In one essay titled “Does 3I/ATLAS Generate Its Own Light?”, Loeb questioned whether its brightness might stem from self-luminosity rather than reflected sunlight - a property unlike any known comet.

“The hypothesis in question is that the recent interstellar visitor to our Solar System, 3I/ATLAS1-10, is a technological artefact, and furthermore has active intelligence. If this is the case, then two possibilities follow: first, that its intentions are entirely benign, and second, they are malign, or somewhere in between," he wrote in a paper titled “Is the interstellar object 3I/ATLAS alien technology?”

"The consequences, should the hypothesis turn out to be correct, could potentially be dire for humanity, and would possibly require defensive measures,” he warned.

NASA has firmly rejected Loeb's perspective.

“It looks like a comet. It does comet things. It very, very strongly resembles, in just about every way, the comets that we know,” Tom Statler, NASA’s lead scientist for solar system small bodies, told The Guardian.

Loeb has since acknowledged in a blog post that “the simplest hypothesis is that 3I/ATLAS is a comet,” clarifying that his goal was to challenge assumptions rather than make firm claims.

“Let us instead maintain our childhood curiosity and seek evidence rather than pretend to be the adults in the room that know the answers in advance,” he wrote.

Will we be able to see 3I/ATLAS?

The comet will reach its closest approach to the Sun around 30 October, coming within 1.4 au (about 130 million miles), just inside Mars’ orbit.

Its size and physical properties are still being studied, but NASA says it should become visible again through ground-based telescopes in early December, once it re-emerges from behind the Sun.

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29-10-2025 om 22:18 geschreven door peter  

Probes could catch tail of Manhattan-sized space object 3I/ATLAS, but time is running out: report

A pair of space probes cruising the solar system may be able to pass through the tail of the mysterious Manhattan-sized comet hurtling towards Earth — but only if the scientists operating them act fast to divert-course.

The probes — Hera and Europa Clipper — are both speeding on separate missions, but a new paper being published in the Research Notes of the American Astronomical Society found they are perfectly poised to pay a visit to the remains of 3I/ATLAS being dispersed across the solar system.

Both probes will be flying “downwind” of 3I/ATLAS as it cruises through the cosmic neighborhood in the next few weeks and leaves a trail of particles in its wake, Live Science reported, giving researchers the opportunity to fly directly through a comet’s tail for first time in history.

The probe Europa Clipper is on the way to Jupiter’s moon, but could pass through the comet’s tail if scientists act fast.

Nasa

NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope observed interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS on Aug. 6, with its near-Infrared spectrograph instrument.

NASA/James Webb Space Telescope

The probes wouldn’t be flying straight through the tail, however, but across a field where its particles are expected to be blown into space by the Sun’s solar wind.

That dispersal field would be about 5 million miles from the comet itself, but would still be plenty close for the probes to collect invaluable information from the particles it leaves behind.

3I/ATLAS has left scientists puzzled since it was first spotted in June. Though few have disputed that it is anything but a comet, its irregular behavior and make-up have some like Harvard astrophysicist Avi Loeb speculating it could be an intelligently-operated alien probe.

It is expected to fly closest to the Earth by the end of October, but will be hidden behind the sun and impossible for Earthen telescopes and cameras to get a good look at it.

The object is also ejecting a nickel alloy only ever found in human manufacturing, and previously emitted an “anti-tail” from its front that Loeb speculated could be some kind of “braking thrust” system.

Hera and Europa Clipper could be science’s best bet to gather information from the object.

But they will only be in that position over the next two weeks, and scientists would need to act immediately to send them on course to meet the comet’s tail, according to Live Science.

Hera may not even be able to be of much help. The probe is currently headed to study an asteroid and isn’t equipped with instruments that could do much reading of 3I/ATLAS’ particles.

But Europa Clipper — which is on the way to analyze ice on Jupiter’s moon Europa — has exactly the kind of instruments the job would call for.

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29-10-2025 om 21:59 geschreven door peter  

Mysterious interstellar visitor set to reveal its true self in just HOURS

• MORE: Scientists reveal all the strange behaviors of interstellar visitor 3I/ATLAS that deepen the mystery of its origins

By CHRIS MELORE, US ASSISTANT SCIENCE EDITOR

The mysterious interstellar visitor traveling through our solar system may finally reveal its true nature in just hours, as scientists wait for it to emerge from behind the sun.  

While many astronomers are convinced the object known as 3I/ATLAS will be confirmed as a comet, some scientists have said the three-mile-long visitor could be an artificially constructed craft that's maneuvering around the solar system.

3I/ATLAS has been obscured by the sun since last week, but it will reach its closest point, called the perihelion, on October 29.

Scientists expect to determine which scenario is correct once they observe exactly where the object exits perihelion, saying that a noticeable shift in its trajectory tomorrow could indicate that 3I/ATLAS is artificially powered.

In space travel, the most effective moment to accelerate or decelerate a spacecraft is when it is closest to a massive body. Firing the engine at this point, an effect known as the Oberth effect, produces the greatest change in speed.

The majority of astronomers have maintained that 3I/ATLAS is simply a strange space rock from a distant solar system that formed under conditions completely foreign to comets in our solar system.

Studies of the interstellar visitor to this point have shown the classic signs of 3I/ATLAS being a comet, including a tail and a coma, a large cloud of gas and dust surrounding it.

However, some researchers have argued that there are still too many irregularities to overlook, including 3I/ATLAS appearing to reverse thrust like a spacecraft as it moved behind the sun from our perspective.

Astronomers observed 3I/ATLAS strangely shift the position of its tail as it approached our sun in October 2025

3I/ATLAS (Pictured) is expected to reach its closest point to the sun on October 29, and a change in its position as it leaves this blind spot could be a sign of intelligence

Harvard physicist Avi Loeb has argued since the object's discovery that 3I/ATLAS could be an 'alien mothership' which could be positioning itself in this blind spot to either change direction or release smaller probes before continuing on its journey.

Loeb said 3I/ATLAS could be completing a maneuver known as the Oberth effect to change its speed and path, which would be a sign that it has an engine and was being controlled by an unknown intelligence.

Astronomers tracking 3I/ATLAS revealed last week that the object performed a dramatic tail reversal, shifting from an unusual 'anti-tail' that was pointing towards the sun to one that was pointing away.

High-resolution observations from the Nordic Optical Telescope in the Canary Islands confirm that this anti-tail seen in July and August 2025 vanished and a new one formed in the opposite direction by September.

The shift is believed to have occurred because the comet's dust and ice particles reacted differently to sunlight.

Early on, large, slow-moving dust grains scattered light sunward, creating the anti-tail.

As 3I/ATLAS moved closer to the sun, rising temperatures ejected more ice fragments and longer-lived dust particles, producing the tail that now points away like a traditional comet moving through space.

However, Loeb has noted that 3I/ATLAS shed very little of its mass as it has moved closer to the sun, meaning the true nature of the object's chemical makeup is still a mystery.

3I/ATLAS is widely thought to be a comet, but scientists like Professor Avi Loeb maintain that unusual clues point to the object being a spacecraft

3I/ATLAS appears to be coated in nickel, which astronomers believe is responsible for giving the object a green glow

Through October 2025, the supposed comet has seen about two million tons melt away as it approached the sun, which is just a tiny fraction of the 33billion tons Loeb has calculated the giant object to weigh.

• Mysterious interstellar object is morphing in unexplained ways as it moves closer to Earth

Moreover, Loeb told the Daily Mail that scientists still can't explain how 3I/ATLAS is releasing nickel in a gaseous form as it moves around the sun.

'Nobody understands how nickel can be released into the gas form, because you need a special process for that, and the temperatures are not high enough to release the nickel, so that's a puzzle,' Loeb explained.

Nickel is a metal used by Earth-made space technology to shield against the extreme heat from booster engines, and 3I/ATLAS seems to be coated in it.

Until now, astronomers have only seen nickel alongside deposits of iron in nature, but Loeb noted that there have been no signs of iron in 3I/ATLAS at all. 

'That is unprecedented in comets. So, it's not so much the existence of nickel. It's the nickel without iron, which we only know about in the context of nickel alloys that we produce industrially for spacecraft,' the professor added.

While Loeb said any drastic change in 3I/ATLAS speed, course, or size when it emerges from the sun would be a clear sign of intelligence, other scientists still believe these changes still fall in line with normal comet behavior.

Austrian astronomer Michael Jäger told Daily Mail: 'Even though there were some unusual things about this comet, I still assume that we are observing a comet here.' 

'This is because 3I/ATLAS has not changed its course or its calculated speed so far,' Jäger continued.

The scientist added that even if the interstellar object splits apart as it emerges from the sun, that's not uncommon for comets, which have been observed breaking apart as they travel through space. 

'A split of a comet would not be so unusual. Just a few weeks ago, the split of comet 240P/NEAT was confirmed,' Jäger concluded.

{ https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/index.html }

28-10-2025 om 23:01 geschreven door peter  

Astronomer Scott Sheppard discovered 2025 SC79, marked here in two images showing its motion relative to background stars. 

Credit: Photographs courtesy of Scott S. Sheppar

Discovered by Carnegie Science astronomer Scott S. Sheppard, 2025 SC79 completes its journey around the Sun every 128 days, making it the second-fastest asteroid known in our Solar System.

A Stealthy, High-Speed Space Object

2025 SC79 is unique for reasons other than its difficult-to-spot location and high-speed trips around the Sun. It also happens to be the second object astronomers have discovered that has an orbit inside of Venus.

In the images above, 2025 SC79 can be seen moving relative to background stars on the night of its discovery

(images courtesy of Scott Sheppard/Carnegie Science).

The unique asteroid also traverses the orbit of Mercury during its speeding Solar journeys, making its speed second only to a 2021 discovery—also made by Sheppard and his colleagues—which revealed asteroid 2021 PH27.

2021 PH27 also has one of the shortest orbital periods of any known space object, second only to planet Mercury. Due to the extreme proximity to the Sun of objects like it and the newly discovered 2025 SC79, they undergo the most extreme relativistic effects of any objects known to exist in our Solar System.

According to a statement accompanying the discovery, Carnegie Science’s Magellan telescope, as well as the National Science Foundation’s Gemini telescope, were used to confirm the detection of 2025 SC79.

Hidden Threats Near the Sun

Sheppard is uniquely positioned to make such discoveries, since his work focuses on objects like planetary moons, so-called “dwarf planets,” and asteroids. However, with the discovery of these lurking space objects hidden in the Sun’s glare, which astronomers sometimes call “twilight” asteroids, his work also plays a fundamental role in the detection of objects that are potentially at risk of impacting the Earth.

One of the most notable examples of a space object taking Earth off guard with its approach from the direction of the Sun was the 2013 Chelyabinsk meteor event, which was famously documented by dash cameras in vehicles and other cameras while going unseen by astronomers. Of course, coming from the direction of the Sun makes it very difficult—if not impossible—for such objects to be detected beforehand while obscured by the powerful glare.

The event served as a wake-up call for astronomers and prompted planetary defense efforts like those now conducted by Sheppard to help reduce the likelihood that we will be taken off guard by the arrival of such objects in the future.

“The most dangerous asteroids are the most difficult to detect,” Sheppard recently said.

Twilight Asteroids

“Most asteroid research finds these objects in the dark of night, where they are easiest to spot,” he says, although “twilight” asteroids draw their nickname from being objects that can only be observed during twilight due to their proximity to the Sun.

“If these ‘twilight’ asteroids approach Earth, they could pose serious impact hazards,” he says.

In Sheppard’s work, which receives funding from NASA, the National Science Foundation’s Blanco 4-meter telescope and its specialized Dark Energy Camera is employed to search for any potentially deadly asteroids that may similarly be lurking in the Sun’s glare.

Beyond the detection of potential “planet killers” hiding near the Sun, the research also contributes significant information about the formation of our Solar System and its current makeup.

Future Observations and Possible Origins

Presently, 2025 SC79 is on its making its way behind the Sun, where, just like the interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS, it will remain invisible to astronomers for the next several weeks.

However, future observations will help astronomers like Sheppard reveal clues about 2025 SC79’s composition, as well as how the object can withstand the imposing heat produced by the Sun at such close distances.

Sheppard says that a large number of similar objects in our Solar System inhabit one of two primary asteroid belts, although changes that occasionally occur with them can sometimes send objects into much closer orbits, which makes them even more difficult to detect.

“Understanding how they arrived at these locations can help us protect our planet,” Sheppard says, “and also help us learn more about Solar System history.”

• Micah Hanks is the Editor-in-Chief and Co-Founder of The Debrief. A longtime reporter on science, defense, and technology with a focus on space and astronomy, he can be reached at micah@thedebrief.org. Follow him on X @MicahHanks, and at micahhanks.com.

{ https://thedebrief.org/category/space/ }

27-10-2025 om 22:45 geschreven door peter  

Imagine this, a glowing orb anywhere from the size of a golf ball to a basketball floating silently through the air, or even through walls, and lasting for up to a minute or more. 

Daily Mail's Shivali Best explores the bizarre weather phenomenon that has baffled scientists for 750 years.

Click above to watch in full. 

Ball lightning is one of the strangest and least understood weather phenomena on Earth. It is a glowing orb anywhere from the size of a golf ball to a basketball floating silently through the air, or even through walls, and lasting for up to a minute or more.

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27-10-2025 om 21:31 geschreven door peter  

Two spacecraft will pass right through comet 3I/ATLAS' tail

{ https://www.livescience.com/space }

25-10-2025 om 23:08 geschreven door peter  

{ https://www.universetoday.com/ }

25-10-2025 om 22:51 geschreven door peter  

An interstellar comet is dramatically jetting off ice and dust into space, a new image shows.

The comet, called 3I/ATLAS, is sending out a jet of material towards the sun as our nearest star warms up some of its surface. The composite image shows the nucleus or icy, rocky central core of 3I/ATLAS as a large and black dot, along with a white glow — the comet's coma, or atmosphere. The jet is marked in purple and is blasting off towards the direction of the sun, which is typical behavior of comets in the solar system as well.

3I/ATLAS is only the third known interstellar object that has come through our solar system, and is rapidly hurtling towards the sun for its closest approach on Oct. 30. The comet will come within 1.8 astronomical units (sun-Earth distances) of our planet, making it visible in small telescopes before disappearing again into the dark.

Astronomers received notice of the jet Oct. 15 in the Astronomer's Telegram, an announcement service for the astronomy community with editor-in-chief Robert Rutledge, an associate professor at Montreal's McGill University.

Footage of the jet was captured on Aug. 2, and combines 159 exposures of 50 seconds each. It was taken with the Two-meter Twin Telescope at Teide Observatory in Tenerife, which is in the Canary Islands.

"This is the usual," Miquel Serra-Ricart, astrophysicist and chief science officer at the Light Bridges private research institution, which co-manages Teide, told our sister site LiveScience in an email. Serra-Ricart was the individual who posted the new images, which are not yet peer-reviewed; he pointed out that the comet’s tail is also pointing away from the sun, which is typical of these icy objects.

While comets do warm up when they get close to the sun, they don't warm up in all spots in the same fashion. The areas facing the sun heat up fastest, and if there is a weaker area on the surface of the comet, sublimated gases under the surface can burst through — causing these sun-facing jets.

A view of comet 3I/ATLAS taken by the Gemini South Telescope.

(Image credit: International Gemini Observatory/NOIRLab/NSF/AURA/Shadow the Scientist.

Image Processing: J. Miller & M. Rodriguez (

International Gemini Observatory/NSF NOIRLab)/T.A. Rector (University of Alaska Anchorage/NSF NOIRLab)/M. Zamani (NSF NOIRLab).)

Serra-Ricart estimated the jet could be as far as 6,200 miles (10,000 km) from 3I/ATLAS' surface, which is more than twice the equivalent distance across the largest part of the United States. The jet is likely made up of carbon dioxide and dust particles—just like what was spotted by NASA's James Webb Space Telescope back in August.

These jets can begin to fan out as the nucleus of the comet rotates. Some of the material will stay in the coma, while the rest will fall into the comet's tail after pressure from the sun — known as the solar wind — forces it there. Solar system comet C/2020 F3 NEOWISE, which was visible to the naked eye, showed just that kind of behavior back in 2020 in Hubble Space Telescope images.

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{ https://www.space.com/space-exploration }

25-10-2025 om 20:33 geschreven door peter  

Story by Andrew Powell

 

Halley's Comet photographed by the Soviet Probe "Vega" in 1986.

(Photo by Liaison)

A planetary defense group backed by NASA has started efforts to nail down the exact location of comet 3I/ATLAS following the observation of unnatural behavior from the object.

The comet, which is the size of Manhattan that possibly has alien technology, has been listed by the International Asteroid Warning Network (IAWN) as a threat. The group is a global coalition of space experts and entities coordinated by NASA who come together for the detection and monitoring of asteroids and Near-Earth Objects that could possibly be hazardous, doing so to give assessments on potential Earth impacts.

•  (RELATED: ‘What The Heck Is Making Them All Jump?’: Wild Monkeys Fly Into Water At Florida State Park In Crazy Scene)

According to the New York Post, this is the first time ever that an interstellar object has been zoned in on by the group in a campaign, triggering one to sharpen skills and prepare the world for a possible threat from space.

3I/ATLAS, originally photographed July 21 by the Hubble Space Telescope, has shown characteristics that aren’t normal for a comet, per The Post.

NASA-backed researchers launch planetary defense probe to shield Earth from massive interstellar object https://t.co/mfOi4sZHQ1 pic.twitter.com/P0Dubc7nlW

— New York Post (@nypost) October 23, 2025

Some of the bizarre behavior includes having an anti-tail, a particle jet that’s directed at the sun rather than vice versa, which is typically how comets flow. 3I/ATLAS also discharged a column that contained four grams of nickel per second, with no iron being present, which is unusual for comets, per The Post.

According to Harvard University astrophysicist Dr. Avi Loeb who spoke with the New York Post, nickel tetracarbonyl has only been seen in manufacturing done by humans.

Previously, Loeb noted that the non-gravitational acceleration of the object and abnormal course that brings it strangely close to multiple planets — Mars, Jupiter and Venus — could be a sign of an alien probe doing a reconnaissance mission on Earth. Loeb made the claims in a paper, per The Post.

IAWN will be carrying out a “comet campaign from November 27, 2025, through January 27, 2026” to clarify ways to pinpoint the precise location of 3I/ATLAS, according to the New York Post.

• Related video: Colossal Cosmic Object Discovered in the Zone of Avoidance (Insane Curiosity)

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24-10-2025 om 23:43 geschreven door peter  

Interstellar visitor now hurtling toward NASA spacecraft's path in a once-in-a-lifetime encounter

• Scientists baffled as interstellar visitor appears to reverse thrust 

By STACY LIBERATORE, US SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY EDITOR

The ancient interstellar visitor in our Solar System is on a trajectory to encounter a NASA spacecraft in just a few weeks.

The object 3I/ATLAS is expected to pass near NASA's Europa Clipper and the European Space Agency's Hera spacecraft between October 25 and November 6. 

European researchers released a pre-print study discussing the rendezvous, saying the craft will be 'immersed within the ion tail of 3I/ATLAS, providing the opportunity to detect the signatures of an interstellar comet's ion tail.'

One of the most interesting possibilities is encountering the comet's ion tail, a stream of charged particles extending millions of miles from the coma.

Encounters with ion tails are unusual and valuable because they provide a direct sample of material from beyond our Solar System. Historically, such crossings have been difficult to detect, and many may have gone unnoticed, appearing only as small fluctuations in solar wind and magnetic field measurements. 

To predict these potential encounters, researchers use the Tailcatcher program, which calculates the closest approach, or 'impact parameter' of a spacecraft to a comet's ion tail based on solar wind flow.

For 3I/ATLAS, Tailcatcher predicts minimum distances of roughly five million miles. 

Researchers noted that even if Europa Clipper cannot measure all components, the mission could reveal the structure and composition of the ion tail, helping scientists understand the properties of interstellar bodies. 

A new study has revealed that to spacecraft will be able to take a deeper look at 3I/ATLAS, allowing for the first material samples to be collected

As discovery rates of such objects improve, future spacecraft, including ESA’s Comet Interceptor, may be able to encounter interstellar objects at even closer range, opening a new era in the study of visitors from other star systems. 

Co-author Samuel Gran, a postdoctoral researcher at the Finnish Meteorological Institute, told Space.com: 'We have virtually no data on the interior of interstellar comets and the star systems that formed them.

'Sampling the tail in this way is the closest we can currently get to a direct sample of such an object, and thus a different part of the galaxy.'

NASA's Europa is traveling to Jupiter's moon Europa, and the ESA's Hera is currently in the asteroid belt, traveling to the Didymos-Dimorphos.

Didymos-Dimorphos is a binary asteroid system in the asteroid belt, consisting of a larger primary asteroid, Didymos, which is about 2,500 feet in diameter, and a smaller moonlet, Dimorphos, which orbits Didymos at roughly 0.75 miles and measures about 525 feet (160 meters) across. 

The system gained attention when NASA’s DART mission deliberately impacted Dimorphos in September 2022 to test planetary defense by slightly altering its orbit. It serves as an important target for studying asteroid composition, orbital dynamics, and strategies for protecting Earth from potential asteroid impacts. 

The study explained that the Europa probe is equipped with instruments to study plasma and a magnetometer, while ESA’s Hera mission cannot measure ions or magnetic fields. 

If solar wind conditions are favorable, Europa Clipper will have a rare chance to study material from the tail of an interstellar object, the report added.

The object 3I/ATLAS is expected to pass near NASA's Europa Clipper and the European Space Agency's Hera spacecraft between October 25 and November 6

While the researchers and NASA have determined 3I/ATLAS is a comet, Harvard professor Avi Loeb believes all data should be considered before a conclusion is made.

He has stated there is a 30 to 40 percent chance the object 'does not have a fully natural origin,' noting the possibility it is a 'Trojan Horse,' where a technological object masquerades as a comet.

Read More

EXCLUSIVE

• The six-word plea scientists aim to send before mysterious interstellar object reaches Earth 

The claim is based on anomalies observed with the object, including a release of specific metals, its trajectory and how it has flipped its jet around twice.

The odd behavior has also led the International Asteroid Warning Network (IAWN) to launch a campaign for further analysis of the object.

IAWN works alongside institutions across the world that detect, track, and study near-Earth objects (NEOs) to assess potential impact threats to Earth. 

3I/ATLAS is the first interstellar object ever added to the list, triggering a worldwide drill aimed at improving detection skills for space rocks and preparing Earth for a potential incoming threat.

On Tuesday, officials with IAWN admitted that the object was causing 'unique challenges' for predicting its trajectory and decided to add 3I/ATLAS to the Comet Astrometry Campaign.

The object has displayed several unusual features that defy the typical behavior of comets, including an 'anti-tail,' a jet of particles that points toward the Sun rather than away from it.

According to the release, scientists will be running a special training exercise from November 27, 2025, to January 27, 2026.

Telescopes and tracking systems around the world will focus on 3I/ATLAS to refine methods for pinpointing its exact location in the sky.

{ https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/index.html }

24-10-2025 om 22:08 geschreven door peter  

For a long time, it was believed that dinosaurs were already in a state of decline before the asteroid impact. However, a new study published in Science dramatically changes this view. The new data suggests that dinosaurs were thriving right up until the fateful strike — it was the cosmic catastrophe, not internal problems, that led to their extinction.

A team of scientists led by Dr. Andrew Flynn from the University of New Mexico conducted a thorough analysis of rock formations in the San Juan Basin. The area known as the Naashoibito Member contains some of the youngest dinosaur fossils in the world. Using two independent methods — argon isotope analysis and studies of the magnetic polarity of the rocks — the researchers were able to establish a more precise age for these deposits.

The result was sensational: the last dinosaurs of North America lived here just a few hundred thousand years before the asteroid strike. In geological terms, this is an incredibly short period of time.

Prosperity, not decline

The key conclusion of the study was that dinosaurs not only survived but actively thrived. Fossil analysis showed that even in the final millions of years of their existence, they were extremely diverse and well-adapted.

“There is no single North American dinosaur fauna that would make them prone to extinction,” Flynn assured. Instead, there were separate communities that were well adapted to their regions. The north of the continent was home to the familiar triceratops and edmontosaurus, while the south, including New Mexico, was home to giant sauropods.

Professor Steve Brusatte from the University of Edinburgh enthusiastically talks about one of these giants: “Alamosaurus was nearly 30 meters long and weighed more than a Boeing 737. There is no evidence that these dinosaurs were undergoing anything unusual or were in a state of prolonged decline.”

Why did the myth of decline arise?

The researchers offer a logical explanation for this mistake. Dr. Flynn believes it may be related to the nature of the geological record. At the end of the Cretaceous period, there were fewer exposed rocks available for study than before. This creates an “insufficient evidence” effect: fewer rocks — fewer fossils — the illusion of decline. In reality, when looking at specific rich sites like those in New Mexico, the picture is quite different.

“As far as we can tell, it seems there is no reason they should have gone extinct, other than the asteroid impact,” Flynn concludes.

This work has received positive feedback from the scientific community. Professor Michael Benton from the University of Bristol, who was not involved in the study, called the new evidence “very interesting.” At the same time, he noted that the question of global dinosaur decline remains debatable, as the new study focuses on only one specific location.

However, one thing is now clear: at least in some regions of the planet, dinosaurs met their end at the peak of their evolution, unaware of the inevitable threat from space.

Earlier, we reported on how cockroaches survived after a meteorite strike.

• According to arstechnica.com

• Posted in News, Science

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{ https://universemagazine.com/en/news-en/science-en/ }

24-10-2025 om 11:58 geschreven door peter  

3i/ATLAS…. What is it REALLY?

By Marc D’Antonio, MUFON Chief Photo Analyst

WHAT IS 3i/ATLAS???

We have all heard and seen all these supposed images of the interstellar object known as 3i/ATLAS... In some images (all created by AI and borrowed from the Star Trek TV series) claims are being made that these are the "latest released images" and so forth...

Time to cut through all the false garbage that people create for clicks. This article is the DEFINITIVE statement of understanding that we have about 3i/ATLAS.

First, the most powerful telescope our civilization has ever made is in orbit 1 million miles away from Earth at a LaGrange point (like a parking spot in space) and has imaged 3i/ATLAS... Here are those images attached to this article below.

Notice it doesn’t look like some "alien spaceship".

Notice it doesn’t look like the Planet Killer from the Star Trek episode "The Doomsday Machine".

No... It STILL looks like a blob with NO detail AS EXPECTED for a small object....

So, what is it? Let’s explore, shall we?

What’s its size?

With the latest information, it now appears to be larger than we thought… Then again, it's

an interstellar comet coming in along the plane of our solar system. Current estimates are fuzzy due to the outgassing of materials blocking any visible nucleus. We know it could be larger than Oumuamua and comet Borisov, the only two previous interstellar objects. It can be as small as 0.2 miles in size, BUT as large as 28.5 miles in size....

So, you see, it’s NOT EASY to tell the size of an object that is surrounded by a cloud of outgassing gas and dust... once it gets a little closer, we can make a better estimate.

Current estimates put it closer to the upper limit on the hypothetical size. This larger-than-expected size could be due to a variety of reasons, not the least of which is that it originated from our galactic disk, an area known for its dusty and icy regions, which over billions of years could allow a comet to acquire more material and grow to a large size.

What’s its path?

One thing to understand is that the Solar System is inclined to our galactic plane by about 60-62 degrees… This means that the Sun is roughly centered on our galactic disk and orbits the galaxy with the planet plane at this 60-degree angle or greater. Thus, any object coming into our Solar System can come in from the galactic disk, considering the orientation of how the plane of the galaxy passes right through our Solar System. The illustration shows this arrangement.

What’s it made of?

Looking at its light spectra, we can identify different molecules and atoms in the "coma," which is the dust and gas that is hiding the nucleus itself from us. The object has a very high abundance of Carbon Dioxide (CO2), some water ice, water vapor, and Carbon Monoxide (CO). Finally, there is also some Carbonyl Sulfide (COS), a carbon atom with an oxygen and a sulfur atom, which looks similar to the Carbon Dioxide molecule, where one oxygen is replaced by a sulfur atom. Latest results show that Cyanogen is also present, which is a Carbon and Nitrogen atom bonded together with a second pair of the same atoms. So, it's C 2 N 2. This compound, along with carbon, produces a green glow which we now see. It is also sporting a small tail. NONE of this is unexpected for a comet, and ALL of it is unexpected for a SPACECRAFT. There is perhaps a nucleus made of similar components and chemistry, plus a rocky core like we see with many comets.

What’s its age?

It’s very, very old. This object entered the Solar System and came from the Milky Way's thick disk of stars, gas, and dust. This means it might be at least 7 BILLION years old.

The Sun is 4.6 billion years old for comparison. So, this object could be 1.5 times the age of our Solar System.

What’s its speed?

The speed is how we know that it is interstellar... if this object came from far beyond the cloud of icy cometary objects known as the Oort Cloud, then it would have a speed that is faster than any Oort Cloud object could achieve by falling into the Inner Solar System.

And this is what we see. It is moving at 137 thousand miles per hour (approx. 61 km/sec), much faster than an object falling in from the far-out Oort cloud could achieve.

What is its trajectory?

Because it is coming in along the galactic thick disk, it is coming it is somewhat aligned to the plane of our solar system. This means that it stands a chance of passing some of our planets. Right now, Mars (already passed), Venus, and Jupiter are the three planets that it will swing by as it passes through and then continues out of the solar system and back into interstellar space. Its fast speed means that it is not going to be gravitationally bound to the Sun. Planets move in roughly circular orbits around the sun and there are other objects that move in elliptical orbits around the sun. This object is on a trajectory that will take it in and out of our solar system and it is called a "hyperbolic" trajectory.

Fig 2: Trajectory of 3i/ATLAS [bottom left]

What will be its closest approach to the planets?

• Mars

Mars saw this object at its closest point on October 3, 2025, so just a few days before this writing. In fact, Mars is the FIRST planet in our Solar System to see this subject in a “close approach”.

That distance was actually 18 million miles.

• Venus

Venus will see this object at its closest point to the planet on November 3, 2025. When it passes Venus, it will be 60 million miles from the planet.

• Earth

The closest this object will ever get will be about 170 million miles or just shy of the distance to Mars. 3i/ATLAS will only approach to about 130 million miles of the sun which is 1.4 astronomical units. This closest approach will be on December 19, 2025.

• Jupiter

In its final approach, 3i/ATLAS will pass its closest to the Jovian giant on March 16, 2026.

No planet, including Earth, will be seeing this object “close” so do not believe the internet garbage intended to get clicks.

So, there you have it! The truth about 3i/ATLAS. No baloney, no sensationalism, and most importantly no fake pictures to confuse and try to take control of a narrative for clicks. Enjoy the ACTUAL images of the interstellar visitor....

Below are images of 3i/ATLAS. The one with the small red box is one we took with our

SkyTour LiveStream Benson Arizona telescope system … The other is the James Webb image.

To see more about Astronomy why not join our SkyTour LiveStream channel on YouTube and more social media locations! NO cost and we give you the photos for free!! Oh, and you might actually learn to enjoy the gorgeous night sky as we stream it Live in Real Time.

Find us here: 

• www.youtube.com/@STLS 

and at 

• www.skytourlive.org

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23-10-2025 om 21:33 geschreven door peter  

Scientists discover a 'super–Earth' less than 20 light–years away – and it could have the perfect conditions for aliens

• READ MORE: Scientists discover a giant gas planet in 'Earth's neighbourhood'

By WILIAM HUNTER, SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY REPORTER

Scientists have discovered a 'super–Earth' planet less than 20 light–years away, and it could have the right conditions for alien life.

The exoplanet, dubbed GJ 251 c, is at least four times larger than our own planet and is likely to be a rocky world.

However, what makes it truly special is that it sits within its star's Goldilocks Zone – the region where liquid water can exist on the surface.

According to an international team of researchers, this makes the nearby planet one of the best candidates to host alien lifeforms.

To find the alien world, scientists combed through over 20 years of data to find tiny 'wobbles' in distant stars created by the gravity of orbiting planets. 

While these wobbles don't tell us much about conditions on the planet's surface, they can reveal whether the planet is in the right location to support life. 

Scientists don't yet know whether GJ 251 c has an atmosphere, but new telescopes could reveal this within a decade.

Co–author Professor Suvrath Mahedevan, of Penn State University, told Daily Mail: 'This discovery represents one of the best candidates in the search for atmospheric signature of life elsewhere in the next five to 10 years.'

Scientists have discovered a 'super–Earth' (artist's impression) located less than 20 light–years from Earth, that could have the perfect conditions to support alien life  

Exoplanets – planets orbiting stars other than the sun – are so small, dim, and far away that astronomers aren't able to see them through normal means.

Instead, scientists find them by looking for the signs that something is disturbing the orbit of their host star. 

Professor Mahadevan explains: 'We are often taught in school that planets orbit their host stars, but in reality, planets and stars orbit the common centre of mass of the system.

'So the gravitational tug of the planet is also making the star go around this centre of mass, but this wobble is tiny – only about nine centimetres over a year for the Earth around the Sun.'

Since GJ 251 c is so much bigger than Earth and its star so much smaller, this wobble is large enough for modern telescopes to detect.

To find the exoplanet, Professor Mahadevan and his co–authors used a device called the Habitable–Zone Planet Finder (HPF), which is essentially a complex prism that breaks apart the signals from starlight.

Thanks to two decades of observations, scientists already knew that there was another planet, known as GJ 251 b, orbiting this star every 14 days.

But when they looked more closely using the HPF, they found that there was a stronger signal repeating every 54 days.

Scientists say that GJ 251 c (yellow line) likely orbits within its star's 'Goldilocks Zone', the region where liquid water can exist on the surface 

Scientists found the planet using a device called the Habitable–Zone Planet Finder (pictured), which is essentially a complex prism that breaks apart the signals from starlight. This picked up the subtle 'wobble' created by the gravity of the orbiting planet

This suggested that there was a second planet in orbit - one that was significantly larger than its neighbour.

It can be extremely difficult to separate the faint signal of a distant planet from the natural activity of a star, but the researchers are confident their data proves GJ 251 c really exists.

Even more excitingly, their study, published in The Astronomical Journal, suggests that this planet is 'one of the best candidates' for alien life.

Professor Mahadevan says: 'GJ 251 c is at the right distance from its host star that liquid water could exist on its surface, given the right atmospheric conditions. This makes it a really interesting world to characterise further.

'What makes this target even more attractive is that it is less than 20 light–years away, making these characterisation efforts possible.'

Unfortunately, even though the planet is orbiting one of the 100 closest stars to the sun, Professor Mahadevan says it is too far for humans to visit with our current capabilities.

However, improved telescope technology here on Earth could allow us to answer the big questions about GJ 251 c without needing to climb into a rocket.

The researchers are already planning for when the next generation of 30–metre ground–based telescopes comes online.

Scientists are preparing for when the next generation of telescopes will be able to image the exoplanet. These simulations show what future telescopes should expect to find in different scenarios, including a 'Modern Earth Analogue' (far left) in which life exists 

These telescopes will allow scientists to directly image rocky worlds in the habitable zones of nearby stars and to take measurements of their atmosphere.

Read More

•  Scientists are BAFFLED after discovering a giant planet orbiting a tiny star 

The researchers have even created simulations of what GJ 251 c's atmosphere might look like under various conditions.

That raises the tantalising possibility of detecting an alien 'biosignature' in the atmosphere of an exoplanet within the next five to 10 years.

Co–author Dr Corey Beard, an exoplanet scientist from UC Irvine, says: 'We are at the cutting edge of technology and analysis methods with this system.

'We need the next generation of telescopes to directly image this candidate, but what we also need is community investment.'

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{ https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/index.html }

23-10-2025 om 20:55 geschreven door peter  

Astronomers discover skyscraper-size asteroid hidden in sun's glare — and it's moving at a near-record pace

where they are easiest to spot. But asteroids that lurk near the Sun can only be observed during twilight — when the Sun is just about to rise or set. If these 'twilight' asteroids approach Earth, they could pose serious impact hazards."

Asteroids like 2025 SC79 are definitely worth keeping an eye on. To put its 2,300-foot diameter in context, the so-called "city-killer" asteroid 2024 YR4 discovered earlier this year is only around 180 feet (55 meters) wide, and that has the potential to release 500 times more energy than the atomic bomb that destroyed Hiroshima if it were to hit Earth (don't worry, it almost certainly won't).

Sheppard discovered 2025 SC79 using the Dark Energy Camera on the National Science Foundation's (NSF) Blanco 4-meter telescope. The asteroid's existence was then confirmed with observations from the NSF's Gemini telescope and Carnegie Science's Magellan telescopes, according to the statement.

This is the second super speedy asteroid spotted by Sheppard and his colleagues in recent years, having also discovered the fastest known asteroid in 2021. That object, named 2021 PH27, orbits the sun in 113 days, making it just 15 days quicker than 2025 SC79. The only object in the solar system with a faster orbital period is the planet Mercury, which completes an orbit of the sun in 88 days.

2025 SC79's orbit has now taken it behind the sun, so it won't be visible for several months. Researchers will attempt further observations in the future to learn more about the object, which is ultimately another piece of the galactic puzzle that helps astronomers understand how our solar system and its potential asteroid-shaped threats evolved.

"Many of the Solar System's asteroids inhabit one of two belts of space rocks, but perturbations can send objects careening into closer orbits where they can be more challenging to spot," Sheppard said. "Understanding how they arrived at these locations can help us protect our planet and also help us learn more about Solar System history."

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{ https://www.livescience.com/space }

23-10-2025 om 20:27 geschreven door peter  

Scientists baffled as interstellar visitor appears to reverse thrust before vanishing behind the sun

• READ MORE: NASA quietly deploys planetary defense tools after interstellar visitor shows odd light behavior

By STACY LIBERATORE, US SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY EDITOR

Astronomers tracking the mysterious interstellar visitor 3I/ATLAS have revealed that the object has performed a dramatic tail reversal, now pointing away from the sun.

The change comes just months after Hubble Space Telescope images captured an unusual 'anti-tail,' a jet of particles streaming toward the sun instead of away from it.

New high-resolution observations from the Nordic Optical Telescope in the Canary Islands confirm that the anti-tail seen in July and August 2025 vanished and a new one formed in the opposite direction by September.

The shift occurred because the comet's dust and ice particles react differently to sunlight. 

Early on, large, slow-moving dust grains scattered light sunward, creating the anti-tail. But as 3I/ATLAS moved closer to the Sun, rising temperatures ejected more ice fragments and longer-lived dust particles, producing the tail that now points away.

Ground-based observations will be impossible through October as the object passes behind the Sun, hidden from Earth's view.

Researchers at the University of California and the University of Oslo found that 3I/ATLAS is shedding material at a rate proportional to the solar radiation striking its surface.

Meanwhile, NASA's space telescopes previously detected the comet losing about 330 pounds of material per second, made up of 87 percent carbon dioxide and nine percent carbon monoxide.

New high-resolution observations from the Nordic Optical Telescope in the Canary Islands confirm that the anti-tail seen in July and August 2025 transformed into a classic tail by September

Harvard professor Avi Loeb and his colleague Eric Keto have developed a model that offers a possible natural explanation for the comet's strange behavior.

Their findings suggest that as 3I/ATLAS moves closer to the Sun, different types of ice on its surface sublimate, turning directly from solid to gas.

Farther from the sun, about 279 million to 372 million miles away, CO2 ice drives the unusual sunward jets. But as the comet gets nearer, water ice begins to dominate, changing how material is released and causing the tail to flip into the classic shape now observed.

Loeb shared the study in a Wednesday blog post, writing: 'The total amount of mass lost from 3I/ATLAS during July through October 2025 amounts to about two million tons. 

'This is less than 0.00005 of the comet's total mass, which is estimated at over 33 billion tons based on its stable trajectory.'

The gas cloud surrounding 3I/ATLAS could be produced by stripping away only a 1.6-inch-thick surface layer from a 3.1-mile-wide object, a ratio similar to the length of your palm compared to the length of Manhattan Island.

'Needless to say, we cannot infer the true nature of 3I/ATLAS from the skin layer it has shed so far,' Loeb added. 

'My colleague, Adam Hibberd, noted that if the object were an alien spacecraft slowing down, and the anti-tail represented braking thrust, this shift from anti-tail to tail would be entirely expected near perihelion.'

Unlike the first interstellar object, 1I/`Oumuamua, which showed no signs of gas or dust, and the second, 2I/Borisov, which behaved like a typical comet, 3I/ATLAS (pictured) exhibits unique features, including the anti-tail, extreme color changes and a massive coma

However, NASA and most scientists maintain that 3I/ATLAS is a natural comet, though one that originated outside our solar system.

Unlike the first interstellar visitor ʻOumuamua, which showed no signs of gas or dust, and the second, 2I/Borisov, which behaved like a normal comet, 3I/ATLAS displays unique features, including its anti-tail, extreme color changes, and a massive surrounding coma.

Read More

• Mysterious interstellar object is morphing in unexplained ways as it moves closer to Earth 

'As the surface of 3I/ATLAS is exposed to at least 33 gigawatts of solar radiation at perihelion, observations during its closest approach to Earth on December 19, 2025, will offer the most important clues about its nature,' Loeb said. 'If it continues to show all the features of a natural comet, that will confirm its origin.'

The Harvard professor issued a chilling warning as the object was set to move behind the sun on Tuesday.

The object, dubbed 3I/ATLAS, will be exactly on the opposite side of the sun relative to Earth, constituting a so-called `solar conjunction,' tomorrow, which Avi Loeb said would be 'an opportune time for technological action.'

Loeb explained that in space travel, the best time to speed up or slow down a spacecraft is when it's closest to a large object, since firing the engine at that point, known as the Oberth effect, gives the biggest change in speed.

'If 3I/ATLAS is a massive mothership, it will likely continue along its original gravitational path and ultimately exit the Solar system,' the professor shared in a Sunday blog post.

'In that case, the Oberth maneuver might apply to the mini-probes it releases at perihelion towards Solar system planets.'

3I/ATLAS will reach its best window for such Oberth maneuvers just eight days after it slips behind the sun, which will put it the closest to the sun at about 126 million miles away, he added.

While Loeb has floated the idea that 3I/ATLAS could be of extraterrestrial origin, NASA has long maintained that the object is simply a comet from a distant galaxy.

However, that conclusion has not stopped Loeb from calling for more data before the case is closed.

{ https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/index.html }

23-10-2025 om 17:25 geschreven door peter  

NASA quietly deploys planetary defense tools after interstellar visitor shows odd light behavior

• MORE: Scientists baffled as interstellar visitor makes mysterious maneuver toward the sun

By CHRIS MELORE, US ASSISTANT SCIENCE EDITOR

NASA has quietly made a major move to defend the planet after the mysterious interstellar object displayed more strange and unexplainable behavior.

The supposed comet, dubbed 3I/ATLAS, has just been added to the list of threats tracked by a United Nations-endorsed group focused on planetary defense against near-Earth objects.

The International Asteroid Warning Network (IAWN) works alongside institutions across the world that detect, track, and study near-Earth objects (NEOs) to assess potential impact threats to Earth.

3I/ATLAS is the first interstellar object ever added to the list, triggering a worldwide drill aimed at improving detection skills for space rocks and preparing Earth for a potential incoming threat.

On Tuesday, officials with IAWN admitted that the object was causing 'unique challenges' for predicting its trajectory and decided to add 3I/ATLAS to the Comet Astrometry Campaign. 

The object has displayed several unusual features that defy the typical behavior of comets, including an 'anti-tail,' a jet of particles that points toward the Sun rather than away from it. 

According to the release, scientists will be running a special training exercise from November 27, 2025, to January 27, 2026. 

Telescopes and tracking systems around the world will focus on 3I/ATLAS to refine methods for pinpointing its exact location in the sky. 

The supposed comet, 3I/ATLAS, has become the first interstellar object added to the list of threats tracked by the International Asteroid Warning Network (IAWN)

The Two-Meter Twin Telescope in the Canary Islands captured an image showing a faint jet of particles from 3I'ATLAS pointing toward the sun, something comets don't normally do

'They're calling it 'a test of improved astrometry methods.' In other words, the object isn't behaving like it should,' one person wrote on X.

'When every telescope from Mauna Kea to Chile is being synced on one object, that's not a drill,' another X user posted.   

The Daily Mail reached out to NASA on Wednesday, but the agency maintained that the entire space program is 'currently closed' due to the ongoing government shutdown and did not comment further.

It is part of IAWN, along with the likes of the European Space Agency, which are all helping to organize this as a team effort to keep Earth safe from nearby asteroids and comets.

NASA isn't launching rockets to defend the planet from 3I/ATLAS, with the announcement treating this major event more like a tip-sharing exercise for stargazers everywhere to take better pictures of the supposed comet.

While scientists claimed they do not plan to begin the worldwide watch party until late November, 3I/ATLAS is just days away from making its closest approach to the sun, slipping out of view. 

Harvard scientist Avi Loeb has theorized that this shocking 'maneuver' is a telltale sign of a spacecraft using the gravity of a large star to change its speed and course. 

Before its recent strange behavior near the sun, 3I/ATLAS was scheduled to make its closest pass by Earth in December, but skeptics claim that activating the planetary warning system is proof that government officials fear this is no harmless comet.

NASA's James Webb Telescope spotted the interstellar visitor in August, which has since been discovered to be composed of strange materials including nickel

READ MORE

• Mysterious interstellar object is morphing in unexplained ways as it moves closer to Earth

Loeb explained that in space travel, the best time to speed up or slow down a spacecraft is when it's closest to a large object, since firing the engine at that point, known as the Oberth effect, gives the biggest change in speed.

3I/ATLAS will reach its best window for an Oberth maneuver in one week when it comes within 126 million miles of our sun.

Whether it's a comet or something sent by an intelligence elsewhere in the galaxy, astronomers have concluded that it could be gigantic, with a diameter of more than 28 miles.

'If 3I/ATLAS is a massive mothership, it will likely continue along its original gravitational path and ultimately exit the Solar system,' Loeb shared in a Sunday blog post.

The professor has previously suggested that 3I/ATLAS could be a nuclear-powered craft after the Hubble Space Telescope revealed a picture that appeared to show the object generating its own light this summer.

During its closest pass by Mars on October 3, space probes sent back images which seemed to suggest that 3I/ATLAS was a giant cylindrical object coated in nickel, causing it to glow green.

This has fueled even more speculation that the comet is an extraterrestrial probe, as human spacecraft use nickel in the same way to protect them from super-hot rocket exhaust.

{ https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/index.html }

23-10-2025 om 17:13 geschreven door peter  

The object discovered by miners in Western Australia on Saturday is of extraterrestrial origin. Experts identified it as a fragment of a Chinese Jielong-3 rocket stage. Its fall once again highlights the importance of solving the problem of space debris. 

Mysterious burning object

On October 18, workers at a mine in the Pilbara region of Western Australia discovered a mysterious burning object lying on the ground. At first, it was assumed that it had fallen from space, so specialists from the Australian Space Agency arrived at the site. After inspection, they confirmed that the object was indeed connected to Earth’s orbit, but its origin turned out to be terrestrial.

To be more precise, the object turned out to be a fragment of a stage of the Chinese Jielong-3 rocket. Most likely the one that launched 12 communications satellites into orbit in September this year. More precisely, the space agency has determined with certainty that it is a fuel tank, while the rest are details that still need to be confirmed.

But if it is indeed a fragment of a Chinese rocket, then according to the international agreement on space, they have to be fully responsible for the consequences of its fall. But the debris should be returned to them.

Space debris

This time, the fuel tank crash in Australia did not have any consequences. But overall, this is a huge problem. The space around Earth is becoming increasingly crowded. There are more than 10,000 active satellites and possibly up to 40,000 pieces of space debris larger than 10 cm. By the end of this decade, approximately 70,000 satellites could be in low Earth orbit, at an altitude of less than 2,000 km.

And of all the space debris, fuel tanks and rocket stages are the most problematic. If satellites are initially designed to burn up completely in the atmosphere, then the tanks have to be made of a more heat-resistant material that can easily survive re-entry into the atmosphere, allowing them to reach the surface.

A report presented at the International Astronautical Congress in Sydney earlier this month lists the 50 most dangerous pieces of space debris in low Earth orbit, 88% of which are rocket bodies. 

Usually, to avoid problems with spent stages, enough fuel is left in them to ensure their descent into an uninhabited area over the Pacific Ocean. But the Chinese often fail to do so, resulting in their rocket stages falling in random locations.

• According to phys.org

• Posted in News, Tech

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23-10-2025 om 16:06 geschreven door peter  

Concept art of NASA's Europa Clipper alongside the comet 3I/ATLAS

(Image Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Gemini Observatory/NOIRLab/NSF/AURA/Shadow the Scientist

The idea was advanced by a pair of researchers in a new paper, which argues that the trajectory of NASA’s Europa Clipper spacecraft and the European Space Agency’s (ESA) Hera spacecraft could allow them to pass directly through the trail of ions left in 3I/ATLAS’s wake.

Doing so might offer astronomers a rare opportunity to collect samples of material from other worlds, which the odd interstellar comet has ejected during its unprecedented visit.

Mission Into an Interstellar Object’s Odd “Ion Tail”

Between October 30 and November 6, 2025, the trajectories of the Europa Clipper and Hera space missions may briefly align with the ion trail left by 3I/ATLAS, allowing their instruments to collect information through detections of charged particles carried outward from the object by the solar wind.

“During the period 30 October – 6 November 2025, it is predicted that Europa Clipper will potentially be immersed within the ion tail of 3I/ATLAS, providing the opportunity to detect the signatures of an interstellar comet’s ion tail, write authors Samuel Grant and Geraint Jones in their paper, which appeared on the preprint arXiv.org server on October 15, 2025.

“Characteristic changes to the solar wind are also expected to be observed,” the authors say, which will likely include what they characterize as “a magnetic draping structure” potentially emanating from the comet.

Even prior to Europa Clipper’s potential passage through the mysterious ion tail of 3I/ATLAS, Grant and Jones believe that the ESA’s Hera spacecraft “will possibly be immersed within the ion tail of 3I/ATLAS during the period 25 October – 1 November 2025.”

Neither spacecraft will be endangered during their potential transit of the interstellar comet’s tail of charged particles, although the implications of doing so could end up being profound, in that they may offer the first opportunity to make indirect observations of material samples from another star system.

A Fortuitous Cosmic Alignment

Grant and Jones are uniquely placed to make such predictions about these space missions and their path in the ion wake of 3I/ATLAS, as they are the ESA researchers behind Tailcatcher, a computer model that tracks how packets of solar wind interact with comets.

Concept art of NASA’s Europa Clipper mission

(Image Credit: NASA/JPL)

According to their calculations, Europa Clipper may be equipped to detect very subtle changes in the plasma environment in space as the comet’s material sweeps by it, moving at speeds of several hundred miles per second.

The Rarity of Interstellar Visitors

One reason 3I/ATLAS captivates astronomers is its origins beyond our solar system, which likely helps explain several of its odd characteristics. Unlike comets from within our solar system, objects like 3I/ATLAS and its predecessors 2I/Borisov and 1I/Oumuamua hail from stars in vastly distant regions in space, and therefore carry with them material they obtained during these interactions that occurred eons ago.

Because of this, current observations about 3I/ATLAS estimate that it is not only the fastest comet ever observed by astronomers, but also potentially the oldest they have ever seen.

Given their rarity, we have been able to collect virtually no data about the composition of these interstellar objects. All the information we have comes from telescopic observations or those made using camera systems on board various space probes, like those currently orbiting Mars.

Recent ESA imagery of 3I/ATLAS, obtained by the agency’s ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter

(Credit: ESA/TGO/CaSSIS).

As recent attempts at visualizing 3I/ATLAS have shown, at times these observations can prove to be especially challenging—not to mention the fact that amid the U.S. government shutdown, NASA has been unable to release what could be some of the most important visuals yet obtained of 3I/ATLAS, believed to have been made by the HiRISE camera aboard the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) earlier this month.

3I/ATLAS’s “Hidden” Tail

Like the interstellar object itself, the dust trail produced by 3I/ATLAS is also well out of reach of any current space missions. However, the same can’t be said of the ionic tail the object produces while being bombarded by solar winds during its approach near the Sun.

Driven by this constant and extremely powerful flow of highly charged particles that disperse throughout our solar system from the Sun, particulates ejected from 3I/ATLAS, apart from the dusty material that immediately surrounds it, are carried away from the object in the same direction as the solar wind, producing a secondary ion tail.

Given the challenges that collecting data about these objects presents, an opportunity to sample ions left in its tail of highly charged particles, even indirectly, could provide us with the closest look at the chemistry of an alien solar system that astronomers have ever obtained.

A Missed Opportunity?

It is frustrating, therefore, that amid the ongoing U.S. government shutdown, Europa Clipper currently remains in cruise mode as it makes its way toward Jupiter and may not be able to activate its scientific instruments before this rare encounter approaches.

Hence, while we await seeing whether the MRO’s HiRISE camera was able to obtain imagery of 3I/ATLAS in its near approach to Mars on October 3, it also remains in question whether the Europa Clipper spacecraft could be activated in time for it to collect any data from the ion tail emanating from 3I/ATLAS.

For any useful data to be obtained, precision measurements will be required to discriminate between the interstellar comet’s ions and those emitted by the Sun. Fortunately, there are several ways to identify ions from comets, including the chemicals they contain, such as those related to water. In contrast, ions originating from the Sun can be expected to exhibit more helium.

Even if Europa Clipper manages to engage the ion tail of 3I/ATLAS with its instruments in operational mode, astronomers will still have to rely on the solar winds flowing strongly enough and in the right direction at the time of the encounter. Even a relatively minor angular deviation could result in the ionic stream coming from 3I/ATLAS missing the spacecraft entirely.

Hope on the Horizon

However, one promising aspect of the idea proposed by Grant and Jones is that 3I/ATLAS will reach its closest approach to the Sun, known as perihelion, on October 29. This happens to occur just prior to the predicted alignment with Europa Clipper’s path, and as the comet’s activity peaks as it nears the Sun, the ionic tail it produces will widen, which increases the chances that it may be able to detect material being ejected from it.

Additionally, the ESA’s Hera spacecraft may also pass through the solar wind streams carrying material from 3I/ATLAS between late October and November 1. However, unlike Europa Clipper, Hera is not equipped with the scientific instruments capable of measuring any charged particles it encounters.

Even if astronomers miss out on this exciting opportunity, the Tailcatcher mission has already succeeded in predicting an ion tail crossing in 2020 that led to the ESA’s Solar Orbiter detecting particles from comet C/2019 Y4. While 3I/ATLAS will likely remain out of range of such spacecraft, Tailcatcher may be able to make additional predictions based on future visits by interstellar objects that visit our solar system.

Additionally, in 2029, the ESA’s Comet Interceptor will take its position in space to await future candidates that may include an interstellar object similar to 3I/ATLAS and its predecessors, which can be targeted for a close flyby that could obtain far more than just detections of ions pulled away from the object by the solar wind.

In the near term, the upcoming alignment between 3I/ATLAS and NASA’s Europa Clipper mission offers a tantalizing advance look at future discoveries astronomers hope to be able to look forward to in the coming years, at the very least.

Or, if NASA can resume operations in time—along with the rest of the U.S. federal government and its workforce—in the days ahead, Europa Clipper may be uniquely positioned for a chance to collect information about the faint chemical fingerprints of another world0

Grant and Jones’ recent paper, “Prospects for the Crossing of Comet 3I/ATLAS’s Ion Tail,” was uploaded to the preprint server arXiv.org on October 15, 2025.

• Micah Hanks is the Editor-in-Chief and Co-Founder of The Debrief. A longtime reporter on science, defense, and technology with a focus on space and astronomy, he can be reached at micah@thedebrief.org. Follow him on X @MicahHanks, and at micahhanks.com.

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22-10-2025 om 22:54 geschreven door peter