Scientists are continuously monitoring the mysterious interstellar object racing through our solar system.
The space object dubbed 3I/ATLAS is rushing toward the Sun at 137,000 miles per hour and now experts have issued a breathtaking update about the object.
The new update by the scientists at the Gemini South Observatory in Chile has put an end to conspiracy theories related to the comet being an alien spacecraft.
The first ever multi-color images of 3I/ATLAS captured by the astronomers on August 27 reveal that the object is a comet, not an alien spacecraft.
The images revealed that the mysterious object has a dense icy nucleus surrounded by a halo of gas and dust known as coma and it also has a long tail stretching away from the sun.
An astronomer from the University of Lancashire, Dr Mark Norris, said, “The new images clearly demonstrate that 31/ATLAS is a comet,” challenging the theory proposed by Harvard astrophysicist Dr. Avi Loeb, who claimed that the object was an alien UFO.
Explaining the unusual brightness of the comet, Dr Norris said that as 3I/ATLAS is moving towards the sun, it gets more and more exposed to the heat, so its features appear larger and brighter.
Scientists have also found that the comet’s components are mostly similar to other comets found in our solar system, noting, “31/ATLAS has a CO2-rich atmosphere with less water than most home-grown comets.”