The Russian Academy of Sciences reported on the movement of comet 3I/ATLAS to Jupiter

Comet 3I/ATLAS is on its way to Jupiter and will fly at a minimum distance from the star Regulus. This was announced on December 27 in the Telegram channel of the Laboratory of Solar Astronomy at the Space Research Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences.

"Comet 3I/ATLAS will pass today at the minimum distance from the last bright star on its way across the celestial sphere — past the heart of Leo, the star Regulus. Further, until the complete disappearance from the field of view of terrestrial instruments, which will occur in the second half of the coming year, the celestial body will no longer have connections with bright stars," the message says.

The researchers clarified that the comet has now moved away from Earth at a distance of just over 273 million km, and its approach to Jupiter is expected no earlier than March 2026.

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The day before, Avi Loeb, an astrophysicist and professor at Harvard University, announced that abnormally large particles had been detected in the anti-tail of the 3I/ATLAS interstellar object. According to his data, in order for particles in the solar direction to reach the observed jet length of 400 thousand km, their radius must be more than one micron.

On December 19, Russian President Vladimir Putin jokingly called the interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS a Russian secret weapon, while emphasizing that Russia opposes the deployment of weapons in space. He explained that 3I/ATLAS is a comet of extragalactic origin, from another galaxy, so it behaves differently than comets originating from the Solar System. Putin also jokingly suggested sending 3I/ATLAS to Jupiter.

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