A stunning new image of interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS (C/2025 N1 ATLAS) reveals the cosmic visitor's ion tail has grown dramatically longer and more structured — a sign of intensifying activity as it continues its journey through the inner solar system.
The image, captured by the Virtual Telescope Project at 11:31 p.m. EDT on Nov. 10 (0431 GMT on Nov. 11), is composed of 18 separate 120-second exposures, remotely taken by robotic telescopes located in Manciano, Italy. Despite the comet being just 14 degrees above the eastern horizon and a bright 61% moon shining about 70 degrees away, a sharply defined, luminous ion tail is seen.
