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As the 3I/ATLAS comet entered our solar system, nearly every telescope on or around Earth was pointed in its direction to try to gather as much data about it as possible. This was, after all, just the third confirmed interstellar object ever tracked entering our system, and it was going to make it well into the inner solar system.
While it was quickly determined that it would not be a risk to Earth, it was still a great opportunity to learn more about an object that has traveled immeasurable distances to pay us a visit.
One issue that astronomers had was that as it was approaching the closest that it would get to Earth’s orbit, it was on the opposite side of the sun, making it so our telescopes couldn’t see it.
With that in mind, space agencies around the world began looking at what missions they had active that would be on the other side of the sun during this time, and attempted to hijack their instruments to study the comet, and it was done with great success.
The European Space Agency (ESA), for example, had their ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter out orbiting Mars, which was on that side of the sun at the time. While the instruments on this orbiter are not nearly as powerful as what is available on Earth, nor were they designed to track an object moving so quickly like this, astronomers were able to make adjustments in order to get some very helpful images.
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From October 1st to October 7th, 2025, the ESA gathered all the information they could. Nick Thomas of the ESA commented about their work, saying:
“This was a very challenging observation for the instrument. The comet is around 10,000 to 100,000 times fainter than our usual target.”
Despite those challenges, they were able to gather information that helped astronomers back on Earth understand the exact path that the comet was taking with about 10 times more precision. This helped make it so Earth based or Earth orbiting telescopes could quickly find the comet as it emerged from behind the sun.
In addition, Jupiter Icy Moon’s Explorer (JUICE) was on its way to Jupiter to begin its mission. Its path happened to bring it much closer to 3I/ATLAS than any other manmade object. It began observing the comet on November 2nd and continued until November 25.
The data that JUICE gathered has to be sent back to Earth using its small low-bandwidth antenna because the team controlling it cannot turn the main antenna toward Earth since that would move the heat shield away from the sun, destroying the entire mission. So, while the comet is now long past, astronomers are still getting new information about its journey from JUICE as it continues to travel toward Jupiter.
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All of this data is not just interesting for learning about space, but it is also serving as a test for the abilities of various orbiters, explorers, and other craft we send to space. In the event that a comet or other object is coming toward Earth, having the ability to track its location from as far away as possible could give us the much needed time to plan and execute an operation that could save the planet.
This data is even being used for the ESAs planned NEOMIR mission, which is designed to set up craft that would monitor the areas on the opposite side of the sun from where we are to help give Earth advanced warning of any potential threats.
3I/ATLAS has highlighted the incredible versatility of the many craft humans have sent out into our solar system.
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