After the US government shutdown ended, NASA resumed nonessential operations and held a press conference revealing previously withheld images of interstellar object 3I/ATLAS. Scientists confirmed 3I/ATLAS is a comet, not artificial, and presented multiwavelength observations from infrared, visible, ultraviolet, and gamma-ray instruments. Image sources include SOHO, Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, MAVEN, Psyche, Lucy, STEREO and others. SOHO captured the object at 358 million km, while MRO obtained a closer 29 million km view showing a frozen nucleus with a dust cloud. All observational data have been released publicly for further analysis.
"After the temporary shutdown of the US government, NASA has finally started its nonessential work back up. It's starting off with a bang: The agency called a press conference to show its hitherto reserved images of the interstellar object 3I/ATLAS. NASA scientists also confirmed that 3I/ATLAS is in fact a comet, contrary to the speculations about alien technology flooding the internet."
"During the broadcast, a panel of scientists showed the results of observations obtained by different NASA missions across various points in the journey 3I/ATLAS has taken. Each provided insights in the infrared, visible, ultraviolet, and gamma-ray spectrums, providing a better understanding of the true nature of 3I/ATLAS."
"This orange-toned photo comes from NASA. The SOHO probe that monitors the sun managed to capture 3I/ATLAS between October 15 and 26. In the words of the agency, this image was a surprise. They did not expect that the object could be seen from so far away, 358 million km."
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