3I/ATLAS Live Tracker: How to find 3I/ATLAS in the sky?
&imwidth=800&imheight=600&format=webp&quality=medium "3I/ATLAS Live Tracker: How to find 3I/ATLAS in the sky?")
3I/ATLAS photo from July Photograph: (NASA)
Interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS is slowly starting to become visible again after solar conjunction and perihelion in October. The Lowell Observatory watched as it emerged from behind the Sun. It will be days before it becomes clear again.
Interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS is set to show more antics in the coming weeks, revealing its true nature. Scientists are watching as it is now done with its meeting with the Sun. At perihelion and before that, the alien comet underwent certain changes which were unexpected. 3I/ATLAS turned blue, became brighter and displayed first signs of non-gravitational acceleration. All of them have been flagged as anomalies by Avi Loeb, the scientist who is urging astronomers to question the characteristics of the comet. He has also asked NASA to reveal its observations of 3I/ATLAS made by the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter on October 2-3. The space agency has gone silent ever since the government shutdown kicked in on October 1.
On December 19, 3I/ATLAS will be around 273 million kilometres from Earth. This would be a good opportunity to try and unravel more details about the interstellar comet. It has already started brightening up and lots of fresh information can be expected pretty soon.
The interstellar comet is becoming visible in the sky from Earth. Dr Franck Marchis said that look towards Venus and the bright star Spica in Virgo to locate 3I/ATLAS. You can use a stargazing app such as SkySafari, Sky Tonight or a stellar map to find Venus and Spica.
3I/ATLAS is expected to brighten in the coming days and might reach magnitude 10 soon. Dr Franck Marchis, senior astronomer and Director of Citizen Science at the SETI Institute and Chief Science Officer and co-founder of Unistellar, said that a telescope or a good pair of binoculars can catch a glimpse of the alien comet.
If you wish to see 3I/ATLAS from Earth, you can use a tracker to follow the interstellar comet. Here is one from The Sky Live tracker, that can tell you the exact location of the alien visitor.
Contrary to theories that 3I/ATLAS won't be visible through regular telescopes, one scientist has said that it can be seen using one from Earth. Scientist Qicheng Zhang shared a photo he took of the interstellar comet using a 152-mm Ritchey–Chrétien reflector.
November 4 will be another crucial date in the interstellar comet's trip through our solar system. It will be 64 million kilometres from the Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer (JUICE) strutting through space to study three of Jupiter's icy moons - Ganymede, Callisto, and Europa. Its camera has been made operational for the mission to capture a glimpse of 3I/ATLAS.
NASA has been completely silent on 3I/ATLAS since the government shutdown kicked in. Its orbiter is believed to have captured the best image of the alien comet from Mars. However, we have nothing yet. Avi Loeb says the "precious data is time sensitive” and has a spatial resolution of 30 kilometres per pixel. He says it would help to guide upcoming observations of 3I/ATLAS before the object leaves our solar system.
Qicheng Zhang, a postdoctoral fellow at the observatory, who saw 3I/ATLAS change colour near the Sun, along with fellow researcher Karl Battams, an astrophysicist at the Naval Research Laboratory (NRL) in Washington, DC, says the comet is visible using small telescopes. According to Zhang, the comet will soon start becoming visible to standard amateur telescopes across a major region of the Northern Hemisphere.
The interstellar comet has a date with the Sun at October end. It reached perihelion and is now slowly starting to emerge from our star's glare. Scientists across the world are waiting to observe the comet and the changes it underwent following the heated encounter. Meanwhile, the Lowell Observatory in Arizona has captured an image of the 3I/ATLAS.
