The presence of a very interesting, newly discovered object has been announced.
A11pl3Z was captured on July 2nd by the Deep Random Survey remote telescope in Chile.
It is now known as 3I/ATLAS.
This object is particularly noteworthy because it has a very eccentric orbit.
It could be only the third known interstellar visitor to our solar system, following Oumuamua (in 2017) and Comet 2I/Borisov (in 2019).
They know this as the high speed at which it is passing through our solar system means that it is not captured by the Sun.
A11pl3Z is currently at +18th magnitude, and moving slowly along the border of the constellations Serpens Cauda, Ophiuchus and Sagittarius, not far from Messier 23, passing north of that open star cluster over the next few days.
This will be a challenge from the UK, but I will give it a go tonight, just because. 😁
You don’t try, you don’t get.
A11pl3Z is currently slightly inside the orbit of Jupiter, but on almost exactly the opposite side of the Sun, and headed toward the Sun.
It will make its closest approach in October 2025.
I cannot predict its position or magnitude that far ahead yet, but it is likely to become brighter, depending on where it is in the sky at that time.
I’ve now heard that it will only reach +14th magnitude.
I will update my blog as more info becomes available.
This is an actively developing astronomical story, with observations continuing as the object approaches the inner solar system.
Unlike the previous two interstellar visitors, A11pl3Z appears to have different orbital characteristics that distinguish it from Oumuamua and Comet Borisov. However, scientists are still gathering data to determine whether it’s a comet or an asteroid.
The orbit has not yet been clearly defined, so the path may change as details become clearer.
You can generate an ephemeris using this URL:
https://cneos.jpl.nasa.gov/scout/#/ephemeris/A11pl3Z
If the given orbital elements are correct, I have produced a map showing where the object will be over the next few days.
If the position changes, I will update the map.
The position is shown at midnight on those dates.
Click on the map for a bigger view.
Good luck to those who have a go at it.
If you do, please let me know how you get on.
Thanks for the hard work on this Dave. I’ll be following your blog for the latest positional data as it nears us and brightens. I was very chuffed to image Pluto in Cap at mag. 15 last week from SW Germany.