Not even one day of truce does our universe give us, and as you already know we have a new neighbor in the neighborhood, it is the comet 3I/ATLAS and the scientific world is completely obsessed with knowing what it is, where it comes from and why it is here. ESA (European Space Agency) is tuning its telescopes so as not to lose even a second of sight of this phenomenon because it is, we already tell you, very very special.
And the thing is, this comet is crossing our Solar System at a speed that no one has ever seen, and the scientists themselves are not able to determine how big it is. And although (for now) there is no spacecraft that can reach it, ESA already has a plan to study it from every possible angle, Hubble, James Webb, Mars Express, TGO, JUICE… all are pointing at the same target.
What is the comet 3I/ATLAS?
We don’t know. But not just us, the scientists don’t know either, it comes from outside our System and comes at a speed that not even Lando Norris, it travels at about 210,000 km/h, at that speed it could cross our country from end to end in just a couple of seconds, and this space traveler has been wandering alone for billions of years through deep space. What’s more, its original system probably has nothing to do now with what it was when it detached from it.
A fleeting visit
This comet has passed by some strategic points of the Solar System and yes, our scientists have been able to capture it:
- On October 3 it passed relatively close to Mars, close enough for the European probes that orbit the red planet to study it.
- On October 30 was its most intimate moment with the Sun.
- And on December 19, 2025 will be its closest approach to Earth (calm: we are talking about about 270 million km, no alarms because we are not at risk and we wouldn’t have a plan B anyway).
Could ESA visit it someday?
For now it is impossible, any spacecraft launched from planet Earth would go too slow to reach it, although we have ways to see it from afar as we told you at the beginning.
These names will sound familiar to you, but Hubble and James Webb are the privileged eyes of the scientists to study everything related to this traveler, its brightness, the shape of its coma and the particles it releases.
They are also going to launch Mars Express, TGO and JUICE, and they are expected to be able to take more detailed images because of their position when the comet passes.
And in the future?
ESA is preparing the Comet Interceptor, with which it intends to intercept some type of interstellar objects like 3I/ATLAS or other interstellar objects.
Planetary defense?
Of course planetary defense alarms are active, but the calculations estimate that this comet will not pass close to our planet and we are not at risk, still, they want to understand better where it comes from, what it is made of and how to act in the future.
Theories are not lacking
Every time something happens in space, the networks flood with conspiracy theories, and you already know how much we love them!
Many are already convinced that this object “is not as natural as they say” and that it could hide some kind of hidden message or even unknown technology, and if it is a UFO? And if there is life inside?
None of this has support, but it is fascinating to see how each new interstellar visitor unleashes the same mix of fear, excitement and pure imagination, especially that last one!
3I/ATLAS is a unique opportunity for scientists, and although there is no direct mission heading to the comet, ESA is deploying all its instruments so that we don’t miss any detail when it passes near us!