Overview
- ESA’s XMM-Newton captured low-energy X-rays from 3I/ATLAS on Dec. 3, consistent with solar-wind charge exchange and uniquely sensitive to hydrogen and nitrogen that are hard to detect in optical data.
- Gemini North images from Nov. 26 show the coma brighter with a faint green hue from diatomic carbon (C2), indicating heightened outgassing after the late-October perihelion.
- Hubble imaged the object on Nov. 30 at about 178 million miles, JUICE recorded activity in early November with most data due in late February, and observatories plan continued monitoring for months.
- Spectroscopic teams report elevated methanol and hydrogen cyanide along with indications of higher carbon dioxide and ionized nickel, pointing to unusual chemistry now under analysis.
- NASA and ESA say there is no evidence of technosignatures and no threat to Earth, with the closest approach set for Dec. 19 at roughly 170 million miles.