3I/ATLAS: An Interstellar Comet at a glance
Object typeComet or small-body topic
RegionSolar System / interstellar space
FocusOrbit, ice, dust and activity
Guide styleVisual and plain English
An icy small body
3I/ATLAS: An Interstellar Comet belongs to the population of small icy bodies that can develop a glowing coma and tails when sunlight warms their surfaces. The solid nucleus itself is usually much smaller than the cloud around it.
Why tails point away from the Sun
Solar radiation and the solar wind push dust and ionised gas away from the Sun. A comet’s tails therefore do not simply trail behind its direction of travel.
Clues to the early Solar System
Comets such as 3I/ATLAS: An Interstellar Comet preserve primitive material. Their ices, dust and organic compounds help researchers test ideas about the chemistry present when the planets were forming.
From the original archive
This English guide is part of the rebuilt VisibleGalaxies archive and uses topic and visual material from the supplied source site.