Agência Espacial Americana, The photos were captured by eight space missions and telescopes between July and October 2025, with the aim of analyzing their composition and trajectory. The comet, discovered on July 1 by the Atlas telescope at Chile, exhibits typical characteristics of a celestial body, such as a coma and tail formed by gas and dust.
The launch took place on Centro Espacial Goddard, on Maryland, after a 43-day delay caused by the partial shutdown of the US federal government, from October 1st to November 12th. Cientistas and Nasa coordinated simultaneous observations to map the movement of the object, which reached perihelion on October 16 130 million kilometers from Sol. Essa initiative allowed recording the comet from different angles, providing data on its structure.
The images confirm that 3I/Atlas behaves like a common comet, releasing hydrogen when vaporizing ice under solar heat. Administradores from the agency highlighted the rarity of the event, which offers insights into distant star systems.
- Minimum distance to Terra: 270 million kilometers, on December 19, 2025.
- Speed: about 50 kilometers per second, hyperbolic in relation to Sol.
- Composition detected: carbon dioxide, water ice, carbon monoxide and carbonyl sulfide.
Observations at Marte reveal nearby details
The Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter probe recorded the comet on October 2, when 3I/Atlas passed within 32 million kilometers of Marte. The HiRISE camera captured a trajectory-annotated view, showing the core as a bright spot against the stellar background.
We’ve just released the latest images of the interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS, as observed by eight different spacecraft, satellites, and telescopes.
— NASA (@NASA) November 19, 2025
Here’s what we’ve learned about the comet — and how we’re studying it across the solar system: https://t.co/ZIt1Qq6DSp pic.twitter.com/ITD6BqVlGn
The Perseverance rover, using the Mastcam-Z instrument, obtained two images on October 4, 29.9 million kilometers away. Essas photos display the object as a faint blob, with stacking exposures revealing the coma and initial tail.
The Maven mission, orbiting Marte since 2014, detected a hydrogen halo in ultraviolet light on October 9, confirming the decomposition of water molecules by solar heat.
Trajectory and chemical composition analyzed
Astronomers have tracked 3I/Atlas since its initial detection, identifying a hyperbolic orbit that indicates an interstellar origin. The object traveled billions of years to reach Sistema Solar, possibly from a star system older than ours.
On September 28, Maven recorded hydrogen atoms in an ultraviolet compound, highlighting interplanetary sources and the comet’s coma. Terrestrial Telescópios, like the Very Large Telescope in the Chile, complemented with spectra that reveal cyanide and nickel in remarkable quantities.
Telescópio Espacial Hubble captured images on July 21, 446 million kilometers from Terra, showing the core rich in organic compounds. Esses data helps refine models of comet formation in other systems.
The Psyche mission, en route to an asteroid, observed the comet on September 8 and 9, from 53 million kilometers, in four sessions of eight hours each. The photos refine the orbit and detect variations in dust emission.
Images from heliocentric missions highlight tail
The PUNCH mission, launched in 2025, collected data from September 20 to October 3, showing the tail as a short elongation to the right. Essas observations, from 372 to 378 million kilometers from Terra, mark the first intentional analysis of an interstellar object by Nasa heliophysics missions.
The SOHO satellite, operated in conjunction with Esa, recorded the comet between October 15 and 16 as a subtle glow in the center of the image. Essa view captures the object close to Sol, revealing interactions with the solar wind.
The Lucy probe, headed for the Trojan asteroids, stacked images from September 16, 386 million kilometers away, showing the coma and tail in fine detail. Esses records provide context about the comet’s evolution during its internal passage.
Infrared spectrum exposes rare elements
Telescópio James Webb observed 3I/Atlas on August 6 with its near-infrared spectrograph, detecting abundant carbon dioxide in the core. Essa analysis reveals water ice, steam, carbon monoxide and carbonyl sulfide, similar to solar comets.
The SpherEx mission, in operation since August, analyzed the object from August 7 to 15 in near infrared, confirming water ice in the core and carbon dioxide in the coma. Esses findings indicate a primitive composition, preserved since its formation.
Contributions of distant probes to the study
The Esa probe Juice captured images during the Marte flyby, integrating data from Earth and Martian orbits. Esses records show the comet against constellations such as Virgem and Leão, aiding in trajectory simulations.
Ground-based observatories, including Keck at Havaí, plan imaging in December to monitor the approach to Terra. Ferramentas as well as Eyes on the Solar System and Nasa allow interactive route tracking.
The comet will leave Sistema Solar after December, but the data collected supports future research into interstellar objects.
