"This movie shows Polarimeter to Unify the Corona and Heliosphere (PUNCH) observations of Comet 3I/ATLAS from September 28 to October 10, 2025, when the comet was between 231 million to 235 million miles from Earth. Each frame is a daily stacked image, made up of multiple observations taken of the comet on each day. Stars create streaks of light in the background as the comet moves across the sky.The bright object that appears near the comet in a couple of frames is the planet Mars."
"This image shows the halo of gas and dust, or coma, surrounding comet 3I/ATLAS, the third interstellar object ever detected by astronomers as it passes through our solar system. It was taken on October 9, 2025, by an instrument onboard NASA's Mars Atmosphere and Volatile Evolution (MAVEN) spacecraft, which has been studying Mars from its orbit since 2014. The instrument, the Imaging Ultraviolet Spectrograph, takes pictures in the ultraviolet part of the spectrum to reveal the chemical compos"
NASA spacecraft across the inner solar system observed Comet 3I/ATLAS during prime late-September to mid-October 2025 observation windows. The PUNCH instrument captured daily stacked images from September 28 to October 10, 2025, when the comet lay between 231 million and 235 million miles from Earth. Each frame combined multiple observations and shows stars as streaks in the background caused by the comet's motion. The planet Mars appears near the comet in several frames. MAVEN's Imaging Ultraviolet Spectrograph imaged the comet's coma on October 9, 2025, revealing gas and dust and enabling ultraviolet-based chemical analysis.
Read at www.scientificamerican.com
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