IKI RAS reported the observation of a rare dust antelope at 3I/ATLAS

A rare dusty anti-tail continues to be observed near the 3I/ATLAS interstellar object, which is called an "alien ship". This was announced on November 27 at the Laboratory of Solar Astronomy at the Institute of Space Research (IKI) of the Russian Academy of Sciences.

Scientists note that as the object moves away from the Sun, higher-quality photographs begin to arrive, in which previously hidden details are already more clearly visible.

"The most remarkable of them, of course, is the anti—tail, oriented opposite to the main ordinary tail," the institute's Telegram channel says.

Anti-tails are usually observed in ordinary comets, there is a scientific explanation for this phenomenon: a thin dust trail becomes brightly visible when the Earth passes through the plane of the comet's orbit, the laboratory said. However, in the case of 3I/ATLAS, this argument is not relevant, since the Earth has not yet crossed the plane of its orbit, and the anti-tail has been observed for more than one or two days.

The IKI RAS suggested that this feature could have been present in the object from the very moment of its discovery, even before it passed behind the Sun. Astronomers will continue to monitor the future behavior of the anti-tail and possible changes, especially after the Earth crosses the plane of the object's orbit.

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Also on November 26, the IKI RAS noted that the interstellar object 3I/ATLAS will approach Jupiter on March 16, 2026. After approaching this planet, the interstellar object will continue its journey into open space, although it will formally remain inside the Solar System for several more years.

Harvard astrophysicist Loeb reported on August 2 that a potentially dangerous interstellar object 3I/ATLAS could reach earth by the end of 2025. The British newspaper Daily Mail, citing an astronomer from the University of Lancashire, Dr. Mark Norris, on the same day classified this body as an ordinary comet.

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