Comet 3I/ATLAS: A New Interstellar Visitor

Prelims Bits

Context:

Comet 3I/ATLAS is the third known interstellar object to pass through our solar system, discovered by the NASA-funded ATLAS telescope in Chile.

Key Features:

• Name & Origin:
  Originally named C/2025 N1 (ATLAS), renamed 3I/ATLAS by the Minor Planet Center.
• Nature:
  Small icy nucleus confirms it’s a true comet, not an asteroid.
• Coma & Tail:
  Has a faint gas coma and short tail—not visible to the naked eye.
• Trajectory:
  Hyperbolic orbit—not gravitationally bound to the Sun, confirming interstellar origin.
• Perihelion Distance:
  Closest approach to Sun: 1.4 AU (210 million km)—just inside Mars’ orbit.

Note:

• Coma: A diffuse gas cloud around a comet’s nucleus.
• Perihelion: Closest point to the Sun in an orbit.
• Aphelion: Farthest point from the Sun.