How typical is our Solar System? Studying 3I/ATLAS, a comet just passing through, is providing clues. Confirmed previous interstellar visitors include an asteroid, a comet, a meteor, and a gas wind dominated by hydrogen and helium. Comet 3I/ATLAS appears relatively normal when compared to Solar System comets, therefore providing more evidence that our Solar System is a somewhat typical star system. For example, Comet 3I/ATLAS has a broadly similar chemical composition and ejected dust. The featured image was captured last week from Texas and shows a green coma, a wandering blue-tinted ion tail likely deflected by our Sun's wind, and a slight anti-tail, all typical cometary attributes. The comet, visible with a telescope, passed its closest to the Sun in late October and will pass its closest to the Earth in mid-December, after which it will return to interstellar space and never return. Explore the Universe: Random APOD Generator
HD image: LINK 🛸
Copyright: **
Victor Sabet &
Julien De Winter
** 🔭
Project Website: LINK 🚀
👨🚀 How many people are in space right now? 👩🚀
12
| Name | Craft |
|---|---|
| Oleg Kononenko | ISS |
| Nikolai Chub | ISS |
| Tracy Caldwell Dyson | ISS |
| Matthew Dominick | ISS |
| Michael Barratt | ISS |
| Jeanette Epps | ISS |
| Alexander Grebenkin | ISS |
| Butch Wilmore | ISS |
| Sunita Williams | ISS |
| Li Guangsu | Tiangong |
| Li Cong | Tiangong |
| Ye Guangfu | Tiangong |
