"The very name of Comet 3I/ATLAS gives away the basics of its story. It is a comet and the third object to pass through our solar system that scientists were able to confirm had originated from another star. It was first detected on July 1 by the Asteroid Terrestrial-Impact Last Alert System (ATLAS) survey telescope in Rio Hurtado, Chile. Astronomers quickly determined that Comet 3I/ATLAS was zipping through space at an incredible 137,000 miles per hour"
"Each one of these has been special and precious, and everybody drops everything to look at them, says Karen Meech, a planetary astronomer at the University of Hawaii. And in an era when scientists are not yet able to launch a specialized mission to catch these strange visitors, recruiting spacecraft that are already exploring the solar system to do the job is the next best thing. You've got kind of a mission for free, Meech says."
Comet 3I/ATLAS is the third confirmed interstellar object to pass through the solar system. Detection occurred on July 1 by the ATLAS survey telescope in Rio Hurtado, Chile. The comet traveled about 137,000 miles per hour along a hyperbolic path, indicating an origin beyond the Sun. Within three months of discovery, NASA and ESA spacecraft at Mars were repointed to observe the interloper, with Jupiter-bound missions planning follow-up observations. Scientists repurposed spacecraft already exploring the solar system to gather data because no dedicated intercept missions exist. Rapid, coordinated observations aimed to maximize scientific return from this rare visitor.
Read at www.scientificamerican.com
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