Hubble Captured the Best Image of a Comet from Another System

• The comet 3I-Atlas is the third known interstellar comet.
• The nucleus size of the comet is estimated to be about 3.5 miles.
• The comet will pass closer to Mars than to Earth.

Cape Canaveral, Florida. The Hubble Space Telescope has revealed the best image of a comet that originates from our solar system with another star. Recently, NASA and the European Space Agency published new photographs.

The comet, known as 3I-Atlas, was discovered last month with the help of the telescope in Chile. It is only the third known interstellar object that passes near Earth, and it does not pose a threat to our planet.

Initially, astronomers estimated the size of its icy nucleus to be a few miles (dozens of kilometers), but observations from Hubble suggested this size is closer to a maximum of 3.5 miles (5.6 kilometers). According to scientists, it could be as small as 1,000 feet (320 meters).

The comet is traveling towards us at a speed of 130,000 miles per hour (209,000 km/h), but it will pass closer to Mars than to Earth, maintaining a safe distance from both planets. It was located at a distance of 277 million miles (446 million kilometers) during the Hubble photography session a few weeks ago. The original telescope detected a thin halo around the nucleus, as well as traces of a tail.

Tags: Technology/Space