"Starting on November 27, a global team of scientists with the International Asteroid Warning Network (IAWN) will kick off a two-month campaign to track the comet as it nears our planet. 'While it poses no threat, comet 3I/ATLAS presents a great opportunity for the IAWN community to perform an observing exercise due to its prolonged observability from Earth and high interest to the scientific community,' the UN explains on its website."
"While 3I/ATLAS was only discovered in July 2025, the UN explained that this 'comet campaign' has long been planned. 'IAWN had been planning to do a Fall 2025 comet campaign since 2024 to exercise capabilities for measuring the position of comets, which pose additional astrometric challenges as they appear as fuzzy extended objects compared to point-like asteroids in a telescope's field of view,' it added."
"The news comes shortly after NASA put claims that the object could be an alien spacecraft to bed once and for all. 'We want very much to find signs of life in the universe... but 3I/ATLAS is a comet,' said Amit Kshatriya, a senior NASA official, at a press conference. Since it was first spotted in July, the object - dubbed 3I/ATLAS - has captivated scientists and internet users alike, even prompting Kim Kardashian to ask NASA for answers."
The UN confirmed Earth's planetary defenses will observe interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS as it passes through the solar system. Starting November 27, a worldwide team with the International Asteroid Warning Network (IAWN) will conduct a two-month observing campaign to track the comet's approach. The campaign was planned since 2024 to exercise astrometric capabilities for comets, which appear as fuzzy extended objects and pose measurement challenges compared to point-like asteroids. NASA dismissed claims that the object was an alien spacecraft and released images from three Mars spacecraft taken about 18 million miles away. Public interest was high, including attention from public figures and some congressional and academic speculation.
Read at Mail Online
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