ESA scientists have obtained a picture of comet 3I/ATLAS with a gas tail

On February 26, the European Space Agency (ESA) published an image of the interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS on its website. The image clearly shows a coma and a tail consisting of gas and dust.

"In total, [the camera] JANUS captured more than 120 3I/ATLAS images in a wide range of wavelengths. The instrument team is carefully studying all these images to understand what they reveal about the comet," the agency writes.

The core of the celestial body has remained invisible, surrounded by a bright halo — coma. A long tail stretches from the comet, and upon closer examination, experts note the presence of rays, jets, streams and filamentous structures.

For greater clarity, the scientists processed the image. The insertion in the image allows you to get a better look at the coma structure. The arrows in the upper-left corner indicate the direction of the comet's movement (indicated in blue) and the direction of the Sun (yellow).

Celestial bodies: observation of 3I/ATLAS provided knowledge about substances from other galaxies

Why do some scientists still call a space object an alien ship?

On February 11, researchers from Auburn University discovered hydroxyl gas coming from the interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS, a clear chemical sign of water. The Swift Observatory also detected a faint ultraviolet glow that ground-based telescopes cannot distinguish.

The study's lead author, Zexi Sing, emphasized that every interstellar planet has been a surprise so far. According to him, comet Oumuamua was dry, Borisov contained carbon monoxide, and now 3I/ATLAS releases water at a distance where researchers did not expect to see it.

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