NEW DELHI, INDIA – On May 17, 2022, the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) showcased its logo at its New Delhi offices. This highlights India’s impressive capabilities in space technology, from building its own satellites to launching missions towards the Moon, Mars, and beyond.
ISRO recently released an incredible close-up view of the interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS, captured by their 1.2-meter telescope located in Mount Abu. This photograph not only showcases a near-circular coma typical of comets but also incorporates spectroscopy data that helps scientists examine the comet’s behavior as it follows its hyperbolic orbit.
Working alongside ISRO, NASA has shared a compilation of findings across multiple missions. This includes stunning images from the Hubble Space Telescope, observations from Mars orbiters like MRO’s HiRISE, and heliophysics insights from various missions such as STEREO and SOHO.
These collective data allow researchers to refine the comet’s trajectory, taking into account the minor outgassing pushes known as non-gravitational accelerations. What’s emerging is a stable, well-documented picture of the comet rather than a sensational one. The observations from the JWST reflect a CO2-dominant composition, suggesting that 3I/ATLAS is behaving much like an active, regular comet as it traverses the inner solar system.
What ISRO’s Close-Up Reveals and Its Importance
During a campaign from November 12 to 15, ISRO’s Physical Research Laboratory efficiently combined both imaging and spectroscopy to yield a colored image and flux-normalized spectrum captured just before dawn. The preliminary results present a nearly circular coma and the usual molecular bands typical of active comets. In an update on November 19, 2025, ISRO shared:
“Images display a near-circular coma, highlighting prominent emission features like the CN, C2, and C3 bands noticed in traditional Solar System comets.”
This demonstrates that the comet is releasing gas in familiar patterns, allowing astronomers to estimate production rates and make comparisons with other cosmic observations.
ISRO also indicated that these production-rate ratios categorize 3I/ATLAS with the ‘typical comets’ group, with ongoing observations planned as the comet gracefully passes into darker night skies, ideal for tracking from the ground. The steady snapshots taken by ISRO play a critical role in juxtaposing varying instrument data from different times and angles.
The Global Collaborative Efforts: Insights from Hubble, JWST, and Martian Views
One notable image from Hubble in July captured a teardrop-shaped dust cluster extending from the comet’s nucleus, contributing important insights about its dimensions and form.
The early spectrum from JWST detected a coma rich in CO2, along with water, CO, and dust, suggestive of a remarkably high ratio of CO2 to H2O compared to many other comets within our solar system.
These findings add depth to our understanding of 3I/ATLAS’s composition, indicating it’s chemically intriguing while still adhering to traditional comet characteristics.
NASA has since organized an extensive set of data that tracks the comet through challenging positions, including views from Mars during Earth’s solar glare hindrances. According to a NASA release on November 19, 2025:
“Identifying twelve NASA missions that captured and processed imagery of the comet.”
This covers everything from close-ups by HiRISE to surface frames from Perseverance, alongside heliophysics visualizations of the comet’s tail from STEREO, SOHO, and PUNCH. The insights from HiRISE affirm details about the coma while noting that the small nucleus remains unresolved at 30 km per pixel.
Continuing Monitoring of Comet 3I/ATLAS: Expert Perspectives
NASA has reiterated that 3I/ATLAS is on a safe trajectory, with closest approach to Earth happening in mid-December at around 170 million miles. They will maintain continuous monitoring through various missions.
According to NASA’s media advisory from November 17, 2025, the comet poses no threat to our planet, as several scheduled missions collectively contribute imagery and spectral analysis.
At a briefing covered by Reuters on November 19, NASA’s Nicky Fox expressed:
“We were quick to conclude, ‘Yes, it definitely behaves like a comet.’”
This reiteration suggests that the comet’s appearance and activity align well with expectations. NASA Associate Administrator Amit Kshatriya further emphasized:
“This object is a comet. It visually looks and acts like a comet.”
These observations complement the details outlined by ISRO alongside the JWST’s chemical findings, noting the comet’s usual physics, its distinctive CO2 abundance, and small outgassing fluctuations blended into its orbital predictions.
The straightforward plan ahead entails continued data collection from ISRO, as NASA backfills with adjudicated image sets. Scientists aim to compare coma compositions and the relationship between dust and gas as the comet moves further away.
More updates will follow, so stay connected!
