They\u2019ve got their Is on the prize. <\/p>\n
China\u2019s Tianwen-1 orbiter has captured an image of 3I\/ATLAS during its fly-by of Mars, furthering efforts to shed light on the interstellar anomaly \u2014 which some have suspected has alien origins.<\/p>\n
The comet can be seen streaking across the cosmos in an animated GIF compiled from several observations taken between October 1 and 4, Space.com reported.<\/a> There was also a standalone photo snapped on October 3.<\/p>\n An image of 3I\/ATLAS captured by the Tianwen-1 orbiter. CNSA<\/p>\n \u201cThis was the first attempt to photograph such a distant and relatively dim target,\u201d the China National Space Administration (CNSA) explained in a\u00a0statement.<\/a><\/p>\n The Tianwen-1 orbiter, which was deployed to the Red Planet in 2021, captured the intergalactic visitor by using a High-Resolution Imaging Camera (HiRIC) that\u2019s similar to HiRISE on NASA\u2019s\u00a0Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter\u00a0(MRO), but with slightly lower resolution.<\/p>\n Capturing the comet was no mean feat given that the spacecraft\u2019s cameras are designed to image the well-lit surface of a planet and not a distant and relatively small comet moving at 129,800 mph.<\/p>\n The team pointed out that 3I\/ATLAS 10,000 to 100,000 times dimmer than their Martian targets, IFLS science reported.<\/a><\/p>\n \u201cThe use of the high-resolution camera carried by the Tianwen-1 orbiter was determined, and key imaging strategies were carefully designed, ultimately leading to the successful completion of the observation,\u201d CNSA reported. \u201cThis mission maximized the imaging capabilities of the high-resolution camera, specifically targeting the faint target.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThis was the first attempt to photograph such a distant and relatively dim target,\u201d the China National Space Administration (CNSA) explained in a\u00a0statement regarding the image of 3I\/ATLAS (not pictured). R. Naves Observatory, Spain<\/p>\n They noted that the image captured the \u201ccomet\u2019s distinctive features, consisting of a nucleus and a surrounding coma, with a diameter reaching several thousand kilometers.\u201d <\/p>\n \u201cBased on this observational data, researchers are conducting further in-depth studies of ATLAS,\u201d the space agency declared.<\/p>\n Capturing the comet on camera has been a real space race of late. <\/p>\n The cosmic oddity shifted to the opposite side of the Sun in September, getting lost in the solar glare, with\u00a0experts claiming that it wouldn\u2019t be visible <\/a>from Earth until at least later this month.<\/p>\n A chart marking comet 3I\/ATLAS\u2019 path through our solar system. NASA<\/p>\n During that time, ATLAS was snapped by the European Space Agency\u2019s (ESA) spacecraft Mars Express, as well as the ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter (TGO)\u00a0from the orbit of the Red Planet.<\/p>\n Meanwhile, astrophysicist Avi Loeb accused NASA of refusing to show him a HiRISE camera image snapped of the comet taken on Oct. 2<\/a>. He suggested that the photo could\u2019ve offered clues to ATLAS\u2019 non-cometary characteristics, such as a tail that points toward and not away from the sun as is standard.<\/p>\n Earlier this month, GOP Rep. Anna Paulina Luna called on acting NASA administrator Sean Duffy<\/a> to share unreleased data and images of the Manhattan-sized comet, which is the third ever interstellar object recorded in our solar system.<\/p>\n \u201cI write to request the release of specific observational data related to 3I\/ATLAS, recently captured by NASA missions,\u201d Luna wrote. \u201cThis information is of great importance to advancing our understanding of interstellar visitors and their interaction with our solar system.\u201d<\/p>\n Loeb praised Luna for taking the initiative in\u00a0a recent post on Medium<\/a>, writing, \u201cWe all owe a debt of deep gratitude for the visionary support displayed by Representative Luna to frontier science through her letter.\u201d<\/p>\n Since ATLAS\u2019s discovery in July, the Harvard scientist has claimed that the object has been exhibiting a host of anomalous behaviors that could suggest that it\u2019s an extraterrestrial probe.<\/p>\n In a recent paper,<\/a>\u00a0the scientist wrote that the object\u2019s non-gravitational acceleration \u2014 which was\u00a0recorded by NASA<\/a>\u00a0last week \u2014 combined with the fact that it glowed \u201cbluer than the sun\u201d could indicate the \u201ctechnological signature of an internal engine.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"They\u2019ve got their Is on the prize. 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