"The name 3I/ATLAS is a direct reference to the fact that it's the third interstellar object we've observed. And it was the ATLAS consortium of telescopes - A-T-L-A-S - that discovered this celestial body. SELIGMAN: It stands for Asteroid Terrestrial-impact Last Alert System. So it is an all-sky survey. So it looks at the entire sky basically every night with a network of telescopes, some in Hawaii, some in Chile, some in South Africa."
"the comet is making its way close to our sun, which is great news for scientists because it offers a peak opportunity, known as the perihelion, for astronomical research. SELIGMAN: So the perihelion of any celestial object is, as it moves throughout its orbit, that point in time and also the point in its orbit when it is closest to the sun."
Interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS is estimated to be between three billion and eleven billion years old and likely traveled the galaxy long before the solar system formed. The comet is passing through the solar system on a one-way trajectory and will not return. It is the third interstellar object observed and was discovered by the ATLAS consortium of telescopes. ATLAS is an all-sky survey operating nightly from multiple sites including Hawaii, Chile, and South Africa. The comet’s perihelion—its closest approach to the sun—makes it warmest and provides the best chance to study its nucleus and composition.
Read at www.npr.org
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