The interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS has once again drawn the attention of the scientific community. The Juice mission, from the European Space Agency, managed to photograph the object as it passed through the Solar System and, even with the images still incomplete, the initial results are already exciting.
The records taken on November 2nd reveal a highly active comet, showing a bright coma — the envelope of gas surrounding the nucleus — as well as signs of two distinct tails, which may reveal unprecedented information about its composition and trajectory.
The first observations indicate:
- Plasma tail: formed by ionized particles, clearly visible in the image
- Possible dust tail: faint, in the lower-left corner
- Strong emissions from the nucleus, evident in the coma glow
- Only 25% of the full image has been received so far
- A minor transmission glitch that did not impact the scientific interpretation
A perfect moment for observation
Juice captured the images just days before the comet reached the closest point to the Sun in its orbit — the period when these cosmic travelers release more material due to intense solar heating.
At the time of the capture, the spacecraft was approximately 66 million kilometers away from the comet.
To deepen the investigation, the mission activated a series of advanced instruments capable of:
📸 capturing higher-resolution images (JANUS)
🌈 measuring the chemical composition of emitted gases (MAJIS & UVS)
💨 analyzing particles and interactions with the solar wind (PEP & SWI)
The full dataset is expected to arrive on Earth only in February 2026, since Juice’s main antenna is currently being used as a thermal shield — requiring a smaller, slower antenna for data transmission.
What scientists hope to learn
With complete imagery and readings, researchers aim to:
- analyze the detailed structure of the coma and the tails
- identify variations in comet activity as it moves away from the Sun
- understand its chemical composition and extrasolar origin
- compare its behavior with other interstellar comets previously observed
These studies may help unravel how objects from beyond our Solar System respond to solar radiation — and what kind of primordial materials they may carry.
3I/ATLAS remains one of the most intriguing visitors of recent decades. And now, with Juice’s careful monitoring, we are closer to understanding the mysteries carried by these travelers from deep space.
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