Scientists recently discovered a very special visitor in our solar system. It was a comet named 3I/ATLAS, which was unusual because it originated from a different star system. This was only the third interstellar object ever detected, making it an incredibly rare sight for astronomers.
The comet's journey brought it close to Mars. By a stroke of luck, the European Space Agency had a spacecraft orbiting the red planet at just the right time. This provided a unique chance to observe the visitor from a much closer vantage point than Earth.
Capturing images of the comet wasn't easy. The spacecraft, called the ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter, is designed to photograph Mars, not faint objects millions of kilometers away. Scientists on Earth worked carefully to turn the entire spacecraft and aim its camera at the fast-moving target.
Their efforts paid off, and they successfully took pictures of 3I/ATLAS. For researchers, this was a golden opportunity. The images can help reveal secrets about how comets are formed in other parts of the galaxy, which can teach us about worlds far beyond our own.