Third Interstellar Object Discovered
10 months ago
- #astronomy
- #comet
- #discovery
- A new NEOCP candidate A11pl3Z was discovered by ATLAS Chile (W68) in four 30-second survey images taken on July 1 UT.
- Follow-up and precovery observations revealed a highly eccentric, hyperbolic orbit (e ~ 6).
- Tentative reports of cometary activity include a marginal coma and a short 3" tail at a position angle of 280 deg.
- Additional observations are encouraged to better constrain the object's orbit and nature.
- All observations received by the MPC are available in real time via the MPC Explorer or in the replicated observations table from SBN.
- The orbital elements for 3I/ATLAS were calculated from 122 observations taken between June 14 and July 2, 2025, with a mean residual of 0.3 arcseconds.
- The comet is expected to reach perihelion on October 29, 2025, with a perihelion distance (q) of 1.3745928 AU.