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3I/ATLAS: NASA Explains Why The Fuzzy Interstellar Comet Picture By HiRISE As Amateurs Produce Better Pics

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3I/ATLAS: NASA Explains Why The Fuzzy Interstellar Comet Picture By HiRISE As Amateurs Produce Better Pics


The much-anticipated NASA live to share the unreleased images of enigmatic exocomet 3I/ATLAS aka C/2025 N1 (ATLAS), proved a disappointment for enthusiasts who expected high-resolution snaps of the third-ever interstellar voyager to the solar system.

3I/ATLAS ever since its discovery on July 01, 2025, by the Chile-based Asteroid Terrestrial-impact Last Alert System (ATLAS) observatory, has baffled scientists and the lay alike. ATLAS has so far discovered 1293 NEAs (Near Earth Asteroids), 112 potentially hazardous asteroids, 4,957 supernovas, and 110 comets, with a capability of detecting asteroids as small as ~20 meters. So far nothing has been more confounding than the comet 3I/ATLAS.

Avi Loeb, a Harvard astrophysicist, has listed 12 anomalies in the object, ranging from its trajectory, anti-tail, abundant nickel, perceived point of origin (WOW! signal), and more.

All eyes were on NASA, for the disclosure, which was delayed due to the government shutdown. Images from NASA assets included the HiRISE cam on the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO), MAVEN (Mars Atmosphere and Volatile EvolutioN), the STEREO mission, SOHO (Solar and Heliospheric Observatory), and the Psyche and Lucy spacecraft. Netizens have been comparing the images with ground-based stargazers taking phenomenally more striking images, including the following ones.

See Also: 3I/ATLAS: Harvard’s Avi Loeb Tears Apart NASA’s Latest Pics Of Interstellar Comet, ‘Nothing More Deceptive’

See Also: 3I/ATLAS: Oxford Astrophysicist Explains Why NASA’s Multimillion-Dollar HiRISE Clicked A Fuzzy Interstellar Portrait

Amid mounting criticism, NASA took to the social media and allayed the concerns stating

Lots of reasons…but in short, it’s not what these spacecraft were designed to do. As comet 3I/ATLAS swooped by, we jumped on the opportunity to turn our instruments its way and see what we could get.

It further explained with HiRISE image as an example

The left (pic 1) is what it was designed to take: images of the Martian surface which is bright, close, and stable. The right (pic 2) is what it was able to capture of the faint, distant, fast-moving comet 3I/ATLAS. True, it’s not magazine cover material—but it is very useful scientifically!

pic 1

pic 2

See Also: 3I/ATLAS: Know How Big Is The Interstellar Comet As It Approaches Closest To Earth On December 19

See Also: 3I/ATLAS: Indian Scientists Capture Image Of Interstellar Comet From Mount Abu; Here’s What They Found





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