An astrophotographer has snapped a stunning shot of the interstellar visitor 3I/ATLAS photobombing a distant galaxy in the night sky. The remarkable image, which also captured the comet's multiple tails, is a reminder of the object's otherworldly nature — but that doesn't mean it was made by aliens, the photographer insists.
Satoru Murata, a New Mexico-based photographer who has previously worked on multiple astronomical research projects, captured the new image using a 0.2-meter (0.7 feet) telescope on Sunday (Nov. 16) shortly before sunrise. It shows a familiar green glow coming from 3I/ATLAS's coma, along with the comet's long ion tail and the reemergence of its shorter anti-tail, which is likely caused by excess dust blowing off its surface. In recent weeks, the comet briefly appeared to lose both these tails, although this was an optical illusion due to its position relative to Earth.
