NASA’s Psyche spacecraft has obtained fresh images of 3I/ATLAS, marking it as the third astronomical object and the second comet observed from outside our solar system.
Psyche secured four observations of 3I/ATLAS over an 8-hour period on September 8 and 9, 2025. Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/ASU.
3I/ATLAS was found on July 1, 2025, by the ATLAS survey telescope located in Rio Hurtado, Chile.
The orbits of interstellar comets represent the most dynamically extreme pathways of any astronomical object recorded within our solar system.
Known also as C/2025 N1 (ATLAS) and A11pl3Z, 3I/ATLAS reached its closest point to the Sun on October 30, 2025.
The latest images of the comet were captured during an eight-hour window on September 8 and 9, 2025, when 3I/ATLAS was roughly 53 million kilometers (33 million miles) away from NASA’s Psyche spacecraft.
“The observations collected by the mission’s multispectral imager will assist in refining the trajectory of 3I/ATLAS,” stated members of the Psyche team.
“Psyche’s multispectral imager consists of a pair of identical cameras fitted with filters and telephoto lenses to photograph the surface of the metal-rich asteroid Psyche across various wavelengths of light.”
“During these observations, Comet 3I/ATLAS was moving away from the spacecraft, but the imager’s sensitivity to the comet’s reflected sunlight allowed for accurate tracking of the object.”
The recent observations further illuminate the faint coma—a cloud of gas and dust—surrounding 3I/ATLAS’ core, which is a frozen mixture of ice and rock.
“Psyche will collaborate with numerous other NASA missions to track the positions of comets over time, aiding astronomers in comprehending the movement of such objects within our solar system,” researchers stated.
“Though comets do not pose a direct threat to Earth, NASA’s space missions contribute to ongoing efforts to discover, monitor, and better understand objects in our Solar System.”
Source: www.sci.news
