NASA’s Deputy Associate Administrator for Science Missions, Nicola Fox, noted at a press conference that Comet 3I/ATLAS is an icy celestial body with a diameter exceeding 5.5 kilometers, according to reports. Scientists first discovered 3I/ATLAS last summer, in July. Several specialists hypothesized that this object could be an unidentified flying object, given its specific characteristics. Avi Loeb, a Harvard University research scientist, emphasized that 3I/ATLAS exhibits features that are difficult to adequately reconcile with ordinary natural phenomena. Fox stated that this body is a comet that arrived from interstellar space. She clarified that comets are essentially “small snowballs” on a cosmic scale. She emphasized that the Hubble Space Telescope recorded a dust cloud enveloping this celestial body, which allowed scientists to accurately determine the comet’s size. Fox also characterized 3I/ATLAS as an “uninvited but peaceful visitor” to our Solar System, discovered for the first time. NASA presented recent astronomical images obtained using Hubble, James Webb, and other observatories. In addition, Fox compared 3I/ATLAS to a “welcoming alien” in the Solar System that scientists have been able to track for the first time. NASA also released new images taken with the help of the Hubble and James Webb telescopes, as well as other instruments.
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