ESA's Jupiter Probe Just Snapped a Stunning Image of Interstellar Comet 3I/ATLAS

A European Space Agency (ESA) spacecraft travelling to Jupiter has captured a new image of interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS, the third known object in our Solar System, providing a close-up view of the celestial object.

Driven by growing excitement regarding the discovery, mission scientists refer to it as a teaser of what is yet to come, with the complete set of data from several instruments not expected until early 2026.

As of 1 July 2025, the ATLAS telescope system in Chile had identified 3I/ATLAS, which has a hyperbolic orbit and is thus not part of our Solar System, and is now only the third known interstellar object to have been detected.

The comets that we know of are mainly of the outer limits of our Solar System. But 3I/ATLAS is not like that; scientists think that it might be as old as billions of years, or formed in a totally different system and then drifted to our own.

This is rare, so astronomers around the world have scurried to observe the comet with all available telescopes and spacecraft. Space-borne platforms were invaluable, as they went behind the Sun out of Earth's view to continue monitoring it.

A Jupiter Probe Switches to Comet Exploration

The JUICE probe by ESA was developed to investigate icy moons of Jupiter, including Europa, Ganymede, and Callisto, to find environments where life could have existed.

However, between 2 and 25 November 2025, JUICE had put its primary mission on hold and pointed its instruments at 3I/ATLAS. The spacecraft carried five scientific instruments, including cameras and spectrometers, to examine the comet's activity and composition.

On 2 November, the Navigation Camera (NavCam) of the JUICE package, which is not a science image apparatus but a guidance system, took its first snapshot of the comet. The jump-start was required because the entire scientific data will not reach Earth until February 2026, due to antenna limitations.

What the Picture Shows: A Comet Scarcely Dead

Even in its low-resolution, partial form, the NavCam image already shows substantial indications of activity in the 3I/ATLAS area. The nucleus is encircled with a glowing halo of gas known as the comet coma. More impressively, researchers assume they can see two tails: a plasma tail or an ionised gas tail, which extends away from the Sun, and a dimmer tail behind it, made of solid particles.

This is not surprising: the comet has recently come closest to the Sun, which has prompted the evaporation of the ices and the resulting jets of gas and dust. JUICE had seen it immediately after this perihelion, when it is apt to be most active.

According to the JUICE team:

'The very clearly visible comet, surrounded by signs of activity, surprised us.

'Not only do we clearly see the glowing halo of gas surrounding the comet known as its coma, we also see a hint of two tails.

'The comet's "plasma tail," made up of electrically charged gas, stretches out towards the top of the frame.

'We may also be able to see a fainter 'dust tail' — made up of tiny solid particles — stretching to the lower left of the frame.'

What's Next: Waiting To Harvest Data

Scientists emphasise that the NavCam image is just a teaser. In the next few months, as data from all five instruments reach the researchers, they hope to open the door to more detailed information: high-resolution images, spectroscopy to analyse the comet's chemical structure, and particle data to investigate the comet's dusty and gaseous surroundings.

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Specifically, they would like to discover what ices and materials 3I/ATLAS will be loaded with, whether it is rich in carbon dioxide, as older research indicates, or whether it will contain exotic ices and dust not present in comets formed in our Solar System.

This has provided unprecedented access; 3I/ATLAS is a direct sample (through remote sensing) of the building blocks in a different star system, given its interstellar origin. That would allow scientists to compare its composition with that of Solar System comets, shedding light on the formation of planetary systems in other parts of the Galaxy.

Why It Matters: Rare Cosmic Opportunity

Comets in interstellar space are very rare. Only two of such visitors have ever been validated before 3I/ATLAS: 1I/'Oumuamua in 2017 and 2I/Borisov in 2019.

When even a spacecraft that is not a comet-hunter (JUICE), succeeded in capturing images which could be utilized, it is a testimony to the exceptional events it is.

Scientists are optimistic that the information obtained by JUICE will provide valuable insights into the building blocks of other planetary systems around other stars.