Archive · 24 Dec 2025
Interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS shows odd jet behavior
Scientists have been watching a special comet named 3I/ATLAS that came from another star system.
This comet is different because it has a tail that points towards the Sun, which is unusual.
Inside this tail, they saw jets of material that wobbled back and forth every 7 hours and 45 minutes.
By watching these jets, they figured out that the comet's core spins around every 15 hours and 30 minutes.
This comet is only the third one ever seen from outside our solar system, and it's teaching us new things about how comets from other stars behave.
Even though it's now leaving our solar system, the information it provided will help scientists study similar comets in the future.
Interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS exhibits a rare Sun-facing tail with wobbling jets.
Observations were made over 37 nights from July 2 to September 5, 2025, using the Two-meter Twin Telescope in Tenerife, Spain.
The comet's nucleus rotates every 15 hours and 30 minutes, faster than previously estimated.
The jets in the anti-tail wobble with a period of 7 hours and 45 minutes, driven by the comet's rotation.
3I/ATLAS is the third confirmed interstellar object observed, following Oumuamua and 2I/Borisov.
- Who
- Researchers using the Two-meter Twin Telescope (TTT) at the Teide Observatory in Tenerife, Spain
- What
- Observed unusual jet behavior in the Sun-facing tail of interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS
- When
- Between July 2 and September 5, 2025
- Where
- Teide Observatory in Tenerife, Spain's Canary Islands
- Why
- To study the physical behavior of a pristine body formed in another planetary system
- Comet Name
- 3I/ATLAS
- Observation Period
- July 2 to September 5, 2025
- Closest Approach to Sun
- October 30, 2025
- Distance from Sun at Closest Approach
- 130 million miles (210 million km)
- Closest Approach to Earth
- December 19, 2025
- Distance from Earth at Closest Approach
- 168 million miles (270 million km)
- Nucleus Rotation Period
- 15 hours and 30 minutes
- Jet Wobble Period
- 7 hours and 45 minutes
