Jupiter-bound spacecraft captures striking images of interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS

Thursday 05 March 2026 - 08:20

By: Dakir Madiha

Jupiter-bound spacecraft captures striking images of interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS

A European Space Agency spacecraft traveling toward Jupiter has captured detailed images of the interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS, revealing a bright coma and a long tail of gas and dust as the rare visitor speeds away from the solar system.

The observations were made by the Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer mission, known as JUICE, during an observation window between November 2 and November 25, 2025. The spacecraft directed five scientific instruments toward the comet shortly after it reached perihelion, its closest point to the Sun, on October 29.

The most prominent image was taken on November 6 by the spacecraft’s high resolution JANUS camera from a distance of roughly 41 million miles. It shows a glowing egg shaped coma surrounding the comet’s hidden nucleus, with a long tail formed by solar radiation and the solar wind.

Because JUICE was positioned on the opposite side of the Sun relative to Earth, the data took months to reach scientists. The images were received in February 2026, and one of the photographs released later that month is part of a set of about 120 images captured across multiple wavelengths.

The European Space Agency said researchers are still analyzing the full dataset and expect to present detailed findings by the end of March.

Although 3I/ATLAS originated from outside the solar system, scientists noted that its activity closely resembles that of typical comets observed within our planetary system.

The comet was first detected on July 1, 2025 by a telescope belonging to the NASA funded ATLAS survey program in Rio Hurtado, Chile. At the time of discovery it was moving through the solar system at about 220,000 kilometers per hour.

Astronomers later confirmed it as only the third known interstellar object ever observed. The first was the mysterious object ‘Oumuamua detected in 2017, followed by the comet 2I/Borisov discovered in 2019.

According to NASA, the object likely originated in another planetary system billions of years ago before being ejected into interstellar space. It approached the solar system from the direction of the constellation Sagittarius.

Additional observations carried out in December 2025 by NASA’s SPHEREx space telescope detected water emissions and organic molecules from the comet. These findings suggest that planetary systems beyond our own may contain chemical ingredients similar to those found in the solar system.

The comet is now moving toward its closest approach to Jupiter, expected in mid March 2026, before continuing its journey back into interstellar space. Scientists say it will never return to the solar system.

NASA noted that the comet should remain visible in the early morning sky with small telescopes until spring 2026.

Meanwhile the JUICE spacecraft continues its long mission toward Jupiter. The probe is scheduled to arrive in the Jovian system in 2031 to study the planet’s icy moons.