The Hubble Space Telescope has captured its clearest image yet of a high-speed comet from another star system making a rare visit to our solar system. NASA and the European Space Agency released the photographs on Thursday.
The comet, officially named 3I/Atlas, was discovered last month by a telescope in Chile. It is only the third confirmed interstellar object to pass through our solar system and poses no danger to Earth.
Early estimates suggested that the comet’s icy core was several tens of kilometres wide. However, Hubble’s latest observations have revised this figure to no more than 5.6 kilometres. Scientists believe it could be as small as 320 metres, roughly 1,000 feet.
Travelling at a speed of 209,000 kilometres per hour, the comet is heading toward the inner solar system. Its path will bring it closer to Mars than to Earth, keeping both planets at a safe distance. When Hubble captured its image two weeks ago, the comet was 446 million kilometres away. The telescope revealed a teardrop-shaped dust cloud surrounding the nucleus, along with hints of a dusty tail.
In other developments, the US administration is planning to end two significant NASA missions that monitor carbon dioxide levels and track plant health. The budget proposal for the 2026 fiscal year does not include funding for the Orbiting Carbon Observatories, which are designed to measure where carbon dioxide is released and absorbed and to monitor crop conditions.
In a statement on Wednesday, NASA said these missions have completed their main goals and are being retired to align with the President’s priorities and budget plans.
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