NASA’s SPHEREx mission observes interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS brightening in a surprising solar outburst |
Comets usually disappear quietly after passing by the sun. Interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS did not follow the same path. Instead, it burned dramatically as it began to exit the solar system. NASA’s SPHEREx space telescope captured the burst in December 2025 and found water vapor, carbon dioxide and complex organic compounds flowing into space. For astronomers, … Read more