Interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS could be turning bright green, surprising new photos reveal
Surprising new photos of the comet 3i / Atlas taken during last week Total lunar eclipse Tip that the “interstellar visitor” can become bright green as the half of his journey approaches through the solar system. This unexpected transformation, if confirmed, is probably the result of the growing proximity of the comet to the sunsay the experts.
3i / Atlas is a Comet about 7 miles wide (11 kilometers) it was First spotted in early JulyZooming towards us at more than 130,000 MPH (210,000 km / h) beyond the orbit of Jupiter. Astronomers quickly realized that the super fast object Is not from our cosmic districtAnd was rather passing by one -way trip. It has probably been ejected from a distant stars system inside the Milky Way and is probably much older than the solar system.
The comet is now closing on a Flyby of March next monthBefore reaching its minimum sun distance on Oct 29 Start cultivating a traditional cometary tail.
But on September 7, astrophotographers Michael Jäger And Gerald Rhemann took new photos of the comet in the dark sky on Namibia. These images were taken during the total lunar eclipse of the “blood moon”, when the full moon passed through the darkest part of the shadow of the earth, which means that the sky was darker than normal for this period of the month. The resulting photos show 3i / atlas with a surprising emerald shade.
The new images suggest that the growing proximity of the comet with the sun has made it “become green” because new rarer chemicals are expelled from its heart, Spaceweather.com reported. However, it is still too early to say, because no other photographer or observatory has so far assisted this change.
In relation: Here we go again! The controversial document wonders if the interstellar visitor 3i / Atlas is an extraterrestrial technology “perhaps hostile” disguised
This is not the first time that astronomers have identified a green glow from a comet. In recent years, there have been several other emerald ice balls, including the nicknamed “Green Comet” c / 2022 E3, who, who, who, who, who, who, who, who, who, who, who, who, who, who, who, who, who, who, who, who, who, who, who, who, who, who, who, who, who, who, who, who, who Passed by us at the beginning of 2023. The explosive “Devil Comet” 12p / Pons-Brooks too Green while he was approaching the sun in 2024while astronomers Spotted another green cometAppointed Swan25F, earlier this year.
The most common cause of this rare coloring is the presence of “dicarbon” in the ice and gas clouds that surround the comets, known as their comas. This molecule, also called diatical carbon, is a form of carbon where two atoms are linked together. Normally, pure carbon exists in the form of solitary and unlimited atoms or in larger structures, such as diamonds.
Until now, 3i / atlas spectroscopic observations have not detected dicarbon in the coma of the comet. However, it is possible that the molecule has been locked up under layers of ice that has since been melted by solar radiation, representatives of Spaceweather.com wrote. “Or the green glow can come from another mixture of gas or dust, imitating a classic cometary color with unknown chemistry,” they added.
AVI LOEBAn astronomer at Harvard University, known to study interstellar objects for the possible signs of extraterrestrial technology, has another explanation. On Personal blogHe wrote that the color could be caused by cyanide, which was spotted in the coma of the comet at the end of August by the very large telescope in the desert of Chile of Atacama.
Therefore, More photos and observations will be necessary in the coming weeks to confirm the new coloring and discover what can cause it.
Unfortunately, the comet will soon disappear from the sight as she passes the sun on the other side of the earth. He will reappear in a few months, shortly before reaching his point closest to the earth in December, when he will be about 700 times further from us than the Moon.
