NASA unveils close-up pictures of the comet popping by from another star

NASA is unveiling close-up pictures of the interstellar comet that's making a speedy one-and-done circuit of our star system

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- NASA unveiled close-up pictures connected Wednesday of the interstellar comet that’s making a speedy one-and-done circuit of the star system.

Discovered implicit the summer, the comet known arsenic 3I/Atlas is lone the 3rd confirmed entity to sojourn our country of the cosmos from different star. It zipped harmlessly past Mars past month.

Several NASA spacecraft astatine and adjacent the reddish satellite zoomed successful connected the comet arsenic it passed conscionable 18 cardinal miles (29 cardinal kilometers) away. The European Space Agency's 2 satellites astir Mars besides made observations.

Astronomers are aiming their crushed telescopes astatine the approaching comet, which is presently astir 190 cardinal miles (307 cardinal kilometers) from Earth. The Virtual Telescope Project's Gianluca Masi zoomed successful Wednesday from Italy.

The closest the comet volition travel to Earth is 167 cardinal miles (269 cardinal kilometers) successful mid-December. Then it volition hightail it backmost into interstellar space, ne'er to return.

Named for the scope successful Chile that archetypal spotted it, the comet is believed to beryllium anyplace from 1,444 feet (440 meters) crossed to 3.5 miles (5.6 kilometers) across.

The European Space Agency's Juice spacecraft, bound for Jupiter, has been grooming its cameras and technological instruments connected the comet each month, peculiarly aft it made its closest walk to the sun. But scientists won't get immoderate of these observations backmost until February due to the fact that Juice's main antenna is serving arsenic a vigor shield portion it's adjacent the sun, limiting the travel of data.

The comet is disposable from Earth successful the predawn entity by utilizing binoculars oregon a telescope.

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