The Parker Solar Probe of NASA has observed the interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS in a very special way, taking photographs when the comet was entirely invisible from Earth. The WISPR (Wide-field Imager for Parker Solar Probe), which is an instrument on the spacecraft, took pictures of the comet from October 18 to November 5, therefore giving the researchers a rare opportunity to see the comet’s journey near the Sun.
Seeing the Unseen
The comet at that time was around 209 million km (130 million miles) from the Sun and perihelion, just outside Mars’ orbit, where the Sun was most blatant. 3I/ATLAS was under Earth’s telescopes’ cover due to Solar glare. “The images provide a precious look at the comet during a period when it was not visible from Earth as it was too close to the Sun,” the Parker team opined. The spacecraft managed to take about 10 pictures daily as it moved away from the Sun after its 25th solar flyby on September 15.
Disentangling 3I/ATLAS Puzzles
Speculation on the part of some scientists pointed toward 3I/ATLAS being an alien probe, the Sun’s gravity being the medium through which the probe veils to Earth, and the slingshot effect as one of its modes of operation. Parker’s observations now allow us to obtain vital information from the freshly uncovered segment of time.
WISPR Team’s Future Actions
The WISPR team is engaged in the ongoing task of processing the pictures, getting rid of the unwanted sunlight, and synchronizing the different exposures that led to the difference in the images’ brightness. When this is done, the images are expected to show us the comet’s structure and activity during its closest approach to the Sun; thus, the knowledge about this enigmatic interstellar guest will be unprecedented.
This capture of the comet is an indication of the Parker Solar Probe’s capacity to unique ability to scrutinize matter in the space zones that Earth telescopes have no access to, thus unmasking the formless cosmic events that were previously hidden.
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