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Interstellar comet swinging past Mars as a fleet of spacecraft looks on
The comet 3I/Atlas will pass within 18 million miles of Mars, observed by multiple spacecraft as the third known interstellar object in our solar system.
- On Friday, the comet known as 3I/Atlas will swing past Mars and pass within 18 million miles of the red planet.
- Discovered in July, 3I/Atlas is only the third interstellar object known to pass our solar system, scientists say.
- Traveling at about 193,000 mph, the comet's nucleus measures no more than 3.5 miles, according to Hubble Space Telescope observations.
- It reaches its closest point to the sun at the end of October, will be tracked by ESA's Juice spacecraft throughout November, and makes its nearest approach to Earth in December within 167 million miles.
- Using orbiters and surface craft, NASA's satellites and rovers at Mars support targeted observations while the nucleus estimate is 1,444 feet.
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The interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS has become a historical phenomenon for world astronomy; it was on July 1, 2025, when the ATLAS telescope, in Rio Hurtado, Chile, funded by NASA, reported its first observations as it traversed our solar system; this object was not born in it, but travels from the depths of interstellar space. Its finding marks an unprecedented fact: it is hardly the third interstellar object recorded in history.
Coverage Details
Total News Sources56
Leaning Left12Leaning Right5Center35Last UpdatedBias Distribution67% Center
Bias Distribution
- 67% of the sources are Center
67% Center
L 23%
C 67%
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