Telescope reveals a rising tail on the comet that is visiting from one other star

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — Telescope observations reveal a rising tail on the comet that’s visiting from one other star.

Released Thursday, the images taken by the Gemini South telescope in Chile late final month are essentially the most detailed but of the just lately found comet. They present a large coma of mud and gasoline across the ice ball because it speeds towards the solar, and likewise a tail that’s extra prolonged than it was in previous shots.

These new photos affirm that the comet is turning into extra energetic because it plows harmlessly by way of our photo voltaic system, in response to the National Science Foundation’s NoirLab, which operates the telescope. It’s solely the third recognized interstellar object to enterprise our method.

As of Thursday, the comet generally known as 3I-Atlas was 238 million miles (384 million kilometers) from Earth and rising ever nearer, in response to NASA. It will make its closest strategy to the solar on the finish of October after which cross closest to Earth in December from 167 million miles (269 million kilometers) away — farther from Earth than the solar.

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This story was first printed on Sep. 4, 2025. It was up to date on Sep. 5, 2025 to appropriate the identify of the company that operates the telescope. It is the National Science Foundation, not the National Space Foundation.

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