Summary
A new image from the European Space Agency's Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer (Juice) spacecraft shows the interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS releasing gas and dust. The image was taken on November 6, 2025, as the comet passed through the inner Solar System.
Key Facts
- The image was captured by Juice's camera named JANUS.
- Juice was about 66 million kilometers from the comet when it took the picture.
- The image shows the comet’s coma, which is a cloud of gas surrounding its core, and a long tail.
- The comet's activity is driven by solar heating, which causes ice to vaporize.
- 3I/ATLAS behaves like typical comets made of ice and dust.
- Juice used multiple instruments to gather data about the comet.
- The team's instruments collected data in November 2025, which is now being analyzed.
- The comet was discovered on July 1, 2025, by a NASA-funded telescope in Chile.
