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International Business Times UK
International Business Times UK
Ria Pathak

3I/ATLAS Update: What Did ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter Capture at Close Range Before Comet Disappeared Behind the Sun?

Hubble captured this image of the interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS on July 21, 2025, when the comet was 277 million miles from Earth. Hubble shows that the comet has a teardrop-shaped cocoon of dust coming off its solid, icy nucleus. (Credit: NASA, ESA, David Jewitt UCLA/NASA)

The interstellar object 3I/ATLAS, also known as C/2025 P1 (ATLAS), has now passed its perihelion, the closest point to the Sun at roughly 1.35 to 1.40 astronomical units (AU), or just over 200 million kilometres.

According to reports, during this period, the comet has become unobservable from Earth, hidden behind the Sun in a phase known as solar conjunction.

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