Archive · 5 Dec 2025
Juice Probe Captures Hyperactive Comet 3I/ATLAS
The European Space Agency's Juice probe took a picture of a comet called 3I/ATLAS.
This comet is not from our solar system and was very active when the picture was taken.
The image shows a bright cloud of gas and dust around the comet, with two tails.
One tail is made of charged gas, and the other is made of tiny dust particles.
The comet was closest to the probe on November 4, but the picture was taken two days before that.
The probe is on its way to study Jupiter's icy moons and will arrive there in 2031.
The camera used is not super high-resolution, but it still captured some cool details about the comet.
ESA's Juice probe captured an image of interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS.
The image shows a glowing halo of gas and dust (coma) with two tails.
One tail is a plasma tail made of electrically charged gas, and the other is a fainter dust tail.
The comet was at its closest approach to the probe on November 4, about 66 million km away.
Juice observed the comet right after its perihelion, making it much more active than when observed by the Mars orbiter.
- Who
- European Space Agency (ESA)
- What
- Captured an image of comet 3I/ATLAS using the Juice probe
- When
- Image taken on November 2, perihelion on October 29
- Where
- Comet 3I/ATLAS in our solar system, observed by Juice probe
- Why
- To study the comet's composition and activity, especially post-perihelion
- Comet Name
- 3I/ATLAS
- Spacecraft
- Juice (Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer)
- Perihelion Date
- October 29
- Distance from Juice
- 66 million km
- Image Capture Date
- November 2
- Tail Types
- Plasma tail, Dust tail
- Expected Arrival at Jupiter
- 2031
