ESA’s Juice Probe Captures Active Comet 3I/ATLAS on November 4

The European Space Agency (ESA) has shared a new image of the interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS, captured by its Juice probe on November 4. This photograph was taken just a week after the comet’s closest approach to the Sun, a time when comets usually become highly active.

Although ESA has only released a small portion of the full photo—one-fourth of the Navigation Camera (NavCam) image—it shows a bright coma surrounding the comet and two faint tails forming behind it. The tails indicate that the comet is actively releasing gas and dust as it travels through space. ESA said the full picture will be released in February.

The Juice probe used its large antenna to shield itself from the Sun’s heat and radiation while sending images back to Earth via a smaller antenna. This means the photos arrive slowly and at lower resolution. The NavCam is primarily a navigation camera, designed to help Juice maneuver around Jupiter’s moons when it reaches the planet in 2031. Despite this, the camera captured a clear and scientifically useful image of the comet.

The image shows two types of tails: a plasma tail made of electrically charged gas, and a dust tail composed of tiny solid particles. Both tails confirm that 3I/ATLAS is in a very active state. When Juice took the image, the comet was about 66 million kilometers away, farther than previous observations from the Mars orbiter. However, the timing allowed scientists to capture the comet immediately after its closest approach to the Sun, making the image more detailed.

Scientists believe this new photograph will provide valuable insights into the behavior of interstellar comets. Since 3I/ATLAS originated outside our solar system, every new image helps researchers understand how such objects differ from typical comets. More information and the full-resolution image are expected when ESA releases it in February.