International Astronomers Track Interstellar Comet ATLAS As It Approaches Earth

The United Nations’ International Asteroid Warning Network (IAWN) is closely monitoring Comet 3I → ATLAS as it prepares for its closest approach to Earth on December 19. The comet, which will come within approximately 167 million miles of the planet, is being tracked by telescopes worldwide to pinpoint its location and make predictions about future objects like it.

According to James Bauer, a research professor at the University of Maryland’s astronomy department and principal investigator at IAWN, the network is about halfway through its 3I → ATLAS observing campaign. The findings are expected to be published in a peer-reviewed journal next year, as reported by ___ Science. IAWN consists of over 80 observatories and citizen scientists globally, actively researching near-Earth objects such as comets and asteroids.

NASA coordinates the network and its observing campaigns. Notably, 3I → ATLAS is the first interstellar object to be tracked since the campaigns began in 2017. The investigators are testing a new astrometry technique to track the pathway for 3I → ATLAS, which can be helpful for determining how to send a spacecraft to a similar comet in the future.

However, accurately measuring a comet’s position poses challenges, such as changing brightness and variability in its coma.