ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter observes comet 3I/ATLAS – static

On 3 October, ESA’s ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter (TGO) turned its eyes towards interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS as it passed close to Mars. 

Together with Mars Express, ExoMars TGO had the closest view of the comet of all ESA spacecraft. It looked towards the interstellar interloper from 30 million km away during its closest approach to the Red Planet. 

ExoMars TGO used its dedicated Colour and Stereo Surface Imaging System (CaSSIS) to capture the comet, an instrument normally used to photograph the bright surface of Mars from a few hundred to a few thousand kilometres away. 

Comet 3I/ATLAS is the slightly fuzzy white dot towards the right of the image. Despite not being designed to capture something so far away, ExoMars TGO revealed the coma of gas and dust surrounding the icy-rocky nucleus. 

For this observation, scientists stacked multiple five-second exposures to reveal 3I/ATLAS. 

Read more

[Image description: A black space background with white streaks and a single fuzzy white dot. The streaks are stars and the dot is comet 3I/ATLAS.]