"The enormous comet, dubbed 3I/ATLAS, was first picked up by a NASA telescope on July 1 as it rushed towards the sun at 137,000 miles per hour (221,000 km/h). Now, a study has revealed that the massive object could have been spotted up to two months earlier. Using NASA's Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS), researchers have discovered new images of 3I/ATLAS, which date back to May 7."
"While TESS watched the object between May 7 and June 3, 3I/ATLAS suddenly became five times brighter. Scientists expect the brightness to increase as it approaches Earth, but the distance travelled in this period would only explain a 1.5 times brightness increase. The object's abnormally intense brightness has already sparked speculation that it could be an alien craft rather than a comet."
"With hundreds of telescopes and satellites constantly watching the sky, objects like comets or asteroids often appear in data long before scientists notice their presence. So, when something important is discovered, scientists will scour old telescope data to see if it appeared in earlier images in a process called 'precovery'. This is important because it gives scientists even more data to refine their predictions about objects that might only be visible for a short time."
3I/ATLAS is an interstellar comet traveling toward the Sun at about 137,000 miles per hour (221,000 km/h). NASA's TESS produced images of the object dating back to May 7, indicating the comet could have been detected up to two months earlier than its July 1 discovery. Between May 7 and June 3 the object brightened fivefold, a change much larger than the 1.5-fold increase expected from distance alone. The anomalous brightness has prompted speculation about non-cometary explanations. Astronomers perform 'precovery' searches through archival telescope and satellite data to extend observation histories and refine orbital and brightness predictions.
Read at Mail Online
Unable to calculate read time
Collection
[
|
...
]