NASA spacecraft reveal interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS brightened rapidly as it swooped behind the sun
Researchers and amateur astronomer Worachate Boonplod kept track of 3I/ATLAS using GOES-19 weather satellite data. (Image credit: Image: CCOR-1/GOES-19/NOAA. Processed and annotated by Worachate Boonplod.)Comet 3I/ATLAS is rapidly brightening as it swings behind the sun, spacecraft observations have revealed.
The comet has been flying around the sun, obscuring it from Earth’s view, to reach perihelion (its closest point to our star) on Thursday (Oct. 29).Yet, while most of the world has been waiting for it to re-emerge, some researchers and amateur astronomers have been using spacecraft to follow its path.On Oct. 18, amateur astronomer and seasoned comet hunter Worachate Boonplod spotted the comet in images from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's GOES-19 weather satellitewhich uses an instrument called CCOR-1 to observe the sun as part of its regular space weather monitoring. Boonplod noted...
