Astronomers and all of us have been carefully following the movement of the mysterious interstellar object 3I/ATLAS for months, as it makes its way through the solar system at tremendous speed. Before leaving our cosmic neighborhood for good, this object, widely believed to be a comet despite alternative theories, will make its closest approach to Earth in about a week, when it will be 269 million kilometers away.
Although it is still about one and a half times the distance between the Earth and the Sun, space missions are already taking the opportunity to observe it in detail. NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope imaged 3I/ATLAS on November 30, when it was about 287 million kilometers away. With the help of the Wide Field Camera 3 instrument, the coma of the object was discovered, a hazy atmosphere of ice and dust around the core, which manifests itself as an eerie bluish glow.
Scientists are looking for answers about the origin of 3I/ATLAS
“3I/ATLAS will make its closest approach to Earth on December 19, 2025,” said Harvard astronomer Avi Loeb, who is known for theorizing that the object could be of artificial origin. He points out that this date coincides with the new moon, which means the night sky will be ideal for viewing without the interference of the moon. Data from hundreds of observatories, including Hubble and the James Webb Telescope, are expected to provide new insights into the nature of the object.
Observations will continue after its closest pass, as 3I/ATLAS leaves the Solar System. Additional data was collected by the ESA JUICE spacecraft, which last month recorded increased activity due to heating by the Sun and mass loss through ice evaporation. Most of that data is expected at the end of February.
It is also interesting that the ALMA observatory in Chile discovered significant amounts of methanol and hydrogen cyanide, chemical compounds important for the origin of life. This further fuels the theory of panspermia, according to which similar objects may have brought the building blocks of life to Earth billions of years ago. Scientists also believe that 3I/ATLAS may originate from a much older planetary system, which makes this cosmic visit even more intriguing, writes Futurism.