“This was a very challenging observation for the instrument,” CaSSIS Principal Investigator Nick Thomas said in a statement<\/a> released by ESA on Tuesday (Oct. 7). “The comet<\/a> is around 10,000 to 100,000 times fainter than our usual target.”<\/p>\n You may like<\/p>\n \n Another TGO view of the interstellar comet 3I\/ATLAS (the fuzzy blob at in the upper third of the frame, near the center of the field of view), taken on Oct. 3, 2025. (Image credit: ESA\/TGO\/CaSSIS)<\/p>\n Comet 3I\/ATLAS was discovered this past July by the Asteroid Terrestrial-impact Last Alert System (ATLAS) telescope in R\u00edo Hurtado, Chile. The “3I” in its name indicates that it’s just the third confirmed interstellar object observed in our solar system<\/a>, after 1I\/’Oumuamua<\/a> in 2017 and 2I\/Borisov<\/a> in 2019.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Astronomers are keen to learn as much as they can about such visitors, which carry with them information about distant and mysterious realms.<\/p>\n “Every planet, moon, asteroid<\/a>, comet and lifeform in our solar system share a common origin,” ESA officials said in the statement. “But interstellar comets are true outsiders, carrying clues about the formation of worlds far beyond our own.”<\/p>\n In 3I\/ATLAS’ case, those clues suggest an origin that’s ancient as well as exotic: Astronomers think it’s the oldest comet ever observed<\/a>, with a birth that predates that of our own solar system by perhaps three billion years.<\/p>\n \n A labeled map showing the path interstellar comet 3I\/ATLAS will take through our solar system and the observations planned by European probes along the way. (Image credit: ESA)<\/p>\n The observations made by TGO \u2014 which reached Mars<\/a> in 2016 to sniff out methane and other trace gases in its atmosphere \u2014 were part of a concerted ESA campaign to study 3I\/ATLAS as it cruises through the solar system.<\/p>\n For example, the agency’s Mars Express<\/a> orbiter, which has been circling the Red Planet since 2003, also attempted to photograph the comet on Oct. 3. Scientists have not yet resolved 3I\/ATLAS in Mars Express imagery, “partly because these were taken with an exposure time of just 0.5 seconds (the maximum limit for Mars Express) compared to five seconds for ExoMars TGO,” ESA officials said in the same statement.<\/p>\n “Though our Mars orbiters continue to make impressive contributions to Mars science, it’s always extra exciting to see them responding to unexpected situations like this one,” Colin Wilson, Mars Express and ExoMars project scientist at ESA, said in the same statement. “I look forward to seeing what the data reveals following further analysis.”<\/p>\n Other spacecraft will turn their eyes on the icy object in the coming months as well, including ESA’s JUICE<\/a> probe, which is on its way to Jupiter (its name is short for Jupiter Icy moons Explorer).<\/p>\n JUICE will start looking for 3I\/ATLAS on Nov. 2, just three days after the comet makes its closest approach to the sun<\/a> (which will come at a distance of 130 million miles, or 210 million km).<\/p>\n![\"black](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/Nw8cdfiasb8KwrH8DNkBvQ.jpg\")
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