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Author
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Topic: Interstellar objects in our solar system
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Philip
Member Posts: 6348
From: Brussels, Belgium
Registered: Jan 2001
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posted 08-12-2025 06:55 AM
   
quote:
Originally posted by SpaceAholic:
...the newly discovered interstellar object 3I/ATLAS, which will pass on March 16, 2026 within a distance of 53.6 million kilometers from Jupiter.
Interesting times, can't wait for the 40m class ESO ELT Extremely Large reflector Telescope to become operational. Five year wait still though... |
Chuckster01
Member Posts: 1181
From: Orlando, FL
Registered: Jan 2014
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posted 10-24-2025 01:10 PM
Does anyone have a scientifically accurate update on 3I Atlas as some news reports suggest that this "comet" is not behaving as a comet normally would. I have heard reports of this object altering course and deviating from the projected path. Some are hinting at a worldwide blockade of scientific information and images concerning 3I Atlas as this object passed fairly close to Mars with opportunities for imaging as it was passing the red planet. As this visitor is now well inside of our solar system and now approaching the sun it was my understanding that almost every telescope and orbiting scientific satellite is fixated on this visitor from interstellar space. I would have expected much more information than we are currently receiving. |
Robert Pearlman
Editor Posts: 55444
From: Houston, TX
Registered: Nov 1999
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posted 10-24-2025 01:56 PM
Yes, it is a comet, no there is no coverup or conspiracy, and as the newest images show, it is "behaving just like a comet from our solar system."I suspect that if there is a damper to any of the coverage, it is because NASA is currently unable to share anything and many, if not most of the U.S. resources would otherwise be feeding information to the public through the space agency. |
Chuckster01
Member Posts: 1181
From: Orlando, FL
Registered: Jan 2014
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posted 10-24-2025 02:48 PM
For informational purposes I googled "number of comets that have jets or tails towards the sun" as I thought expelled material always goes away from the sun? Here is Google's answer: No comets have jets or tails pointing towards the Sun; all comet tails and jets point away from the Sun. This is because the solar wind and solar radiation pressure push the gas and dust particles released from the comet away from the Sun, regardless of the comet's direction of travel.Comet tails always point away from the Sun. This is a fundamental characteristic of comets, driven by solar forces. Solar wind pushes the material. The solar wind, a stream of charged particles from the Sun, pushes the gas and dust particles away from the Sun. Would this seem to be a normal behavior for a comet? Why would 3I Atlas have emissions going towards the Sun? I am genuinely interested. |
Robert Pearlman
Editor Posts: 55444
From: Houston, TX
Registered: Nov 1999
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posted 10-24-2025 06:11 PM
As the linked article explains (citing Miquel Serra-Ricart, astrophysicist and chief science officer at the Light Bridges private research institution): While comets do warm up when they get close to the sun, they don't warm up in all spots in the same fashion. The areas facing the sun heat up fastest, and if there is a weaker area on the surface of the comet, sublimated gases under the surface can burst through — causing these sun-facing jets. Note that the jets facing the Sun are not part of 3I/Atlas' tail; its tail is pointing away from the sun, as is typical of comets. |
spaced out
Member Posts: 3223
From: Paris, France
Registered: Aug 2003
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posted 10-28-2025 08:54 AM
All the reports of abnormal features or behavior of 3I/Atlas are pseudoscientific nonsense. A lot of it begins with Avi Loeb, who has an entire career now based on hyping up interstellar objects, every single one of which he tries to portray as having abnormal behavior that implies possible alien technology.As for comet's tails, most have two distinct tails - the ion tail which points away from the sun, and a dust tail that may curve at a different angle. Depending on the path of the comet relative to the Earth and the sun there will sometimes also be an "anti-tail" visible. In reality this is us seeing one part of a disc of particles around the comet in its orbital plane side-on, lit up by the sun. This apparent spike may point towards the sun, with the other side of it more-or-less hidden by the main tail. This is in addition to jets of sublimated gases that may also appear in sunwards-facing direction, as mentioned by Robert above. | |
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