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The European Space Agency\u2019s X-ray space observatory XMM-Newton observed interstellar comet 3I\/ATLAS on 3 December for around 20 hours. During that time, the comet was about 282\u2013285 million km from the spacecraft.<\/p>\n
XMM-Newton observed the comet with its European Photon Imaging Camera (EPIC)-pn camera, its most sensitive X-ray camera.<\/p>\n
This image shows the comet glowing in low-energy X-rays: blue marks empty space with very few X-rays, while red highlights the comet\u2019s X-ray glow. Astronomers expected to see this glow because when gas molecules streaming from the comet collide with the solar wind, they produce X-rays.<\/p>\n
These X-rays can come from the interaction of the solar wind with gases like water vapour, carbon dioxide, or carbon monoxide \u2013 which telescopes such as the\u00a0NASA\/ESA\/CSA James Webb Space Telescope and NASA\u2019s SPHEREx have already detected. But they are uniquely sensitive to gases like hydrogen (H\u2082) and nitrogen (N\u2082). These are almost invisible to optical and ultraviolet instruments, such as the cameras on the NASA\/ESA Hubble Space Telescope or ESA\u2019s JUICE.<\/p>\n
This makes X-ray observations a powerful tool. They allow scientists to detect and study gases that other instruments can\u2019t easily spot.<\/p>\n
Several groups of scientists think that the first detected interstellar object, 1I\/’Oumuamua (found in 2017), may have been made of exotic ice like nitrogen or hydrogen.<\/p>\n
While 1I\/’Oumuamua is too far away now, 3I\/ATLAS presents a new opportunity to study an interstellar object, and observations in X-ray light will complement other observations to help scientists figure out what it is made of.<\/p>\n
For the latest updates and FAQs related to comet 3I\/ATLAS, see esa.int\/3IATLAS.<\/p>\n
[Image description: This image shows an X-ray view of interstellar comet 3I ATLAS, captured by ESA\u2019s XMM-Newton spacecraft. At the centre of the image, a bright red spot stands out against a dark background, like a fiery beacon. Starting from this core, faint gradients of purple and blue spread outward, creating a slightly rotated rectangular frame, divided by a thin horizontal line, the detector gap. The red colour shows low-energy X-rays, blue marks empty space with very few X-rays. A yellow arrow labelled \u201cSun\u201d points left, indicating the comet\u2019s orientation in the Solar System. At the bottom right, a scale marker reads \u201c5 arcmin\u201d, providing a sense of spatial dimension.]<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n