New telescope images of the interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS confirm that the mysterious object has gotten brighter and greener since its close approach to the sun in late October. This increase in activity could portend new, bright outbursts of cometary material as 3I/ATLAS careens toward its closest encounter with Earth next week.
Taken on Nov. 26 with the Gemini North telescope atop Hawaii's dormant Mauna Kea volcano, the new images capture the comet in one of its most active phases yet. Recently heated by intense solar radiation, ice on the comet is sublimating and spewing into space along with tons of dust, forming a bright, cloudy atmosphere (a coma) around the comet's main body and a long, glowing tail behind it.
