I recommend this article by @meghanbartels.bsky.social and @leebillings.bsky.social for folks who are looking for *factual* information about why 3I/ATLAS is of interest to planetary astronomers: www.scientificamerican.com/article/the-...

When the third interstellar object was discovered in July, years of careful preparation helped astronomers quickly jump into action to observe our new cometary visitor from the get-go. eos.org/features/how...

Nice short discussion of the evolving understanding of 3I/ATLAS as this interstellar comet continues its approach to the Sun and more observations come in from various telescopes, featuring a lot of the observing folks 🔭☄️🧪

SPHEREx and JWST reveal what comet 3I/ATLAS is… and isn’t

Wonder what interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS is all about? So did scientists working on SPHEREx and JWST.

Hello, too much carbon dioxide, no aliens, and very little everything else.
bigthink.com/starts-with-...
#space #astro #science #notaviloeb

Nice video associated with our paper on initial Hubble imaging of interstellar object 3I: arxiv.org/abs/2508.02934

Hubble observations of interstellar visitor 3I/ATLAS show that it looks like a comet. It has a teardrop-shaped cocoon of dust coming off a solid icy nucleus. The nucleus is roughly no wider than 3.5 miles (5.6 kilometers): go.nasa.gov/3UenJhD 🔭 🧪

New studies of the interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS show that it's a lot smaller than those early estimates, which were really upper limits. Our interstellar visitor is no more than 5 km (3 miles) wide, probably smaller.

Which makes sense--small objects are a lot more common than big ones. 🧪🔭

FACT THREAD on New Interstellar Object #A11pl3Z

This story unfolded pretty fast yesterday for a few reasons. The object was discovered on July 1st UTC by the Asteroid Terrestrial-impact Last Alert System, or ATLAS team. A #NASA funded survey at the University of Hawaii. atlas.fallingstar.com 🔭🧪

This animation was assembled from a combination of Hubble images of Mars taken from December 28-30, 2024. At the midpoint of the Hubble observations, Mars was approximately 61 million miles from Earth. 🔭 🧪

The #NASARoman Project invites community suggestions for First Look Observations with the WFI. These should highlight key capabilities and demonstrate the power of its observing modes. Submit your ideas by August 11, 2025, at 5 PM ET.

More info: bit.ly/4dIBcap

#NASARoman

Astronomer Nancy Grace Roman was born #OTD in 1925.

After early work in spectral classification and galactic evolution, she became NASA’s first Chief of Astronomy and did foundational work planning and overseeing the development of the Hubble Space Telescope. 🧪 🔭 👩‍🔬

Image: NASA

The 5 year mission plan for @nasaromantelescope.bsky.social summarized in an easy to read press release with some snazzy graphics. Which part are you most excited about? #NASARoman #LongLiveRoman

www.nasa.gov/missions/rom...

Hubble was planned to be a 15-year mission, and the return on investment is noteworthy. This week we celebrate our 35th anniversary with more iconic images of the awe-inspiring universe that we all inhabit.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=V7AL...

This really is an extinction level event for NASA's science programs.

arstechnica.com/space/2025/0...

There are reports The White House is considering a 50% cut to NASA’s science programs, and 25% of its overall budget, which would be catastrophic for both current and planned missions. But, there is still time for the administration to reconsider. Read our full statement ⬇️

Technicians have successfully integrated NASA’s Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope’s payload—the telescope, instrument carrier, and two instruments—to the spacecraft that will deliver the observatory to its place in space and enable it to function while there. 🔭 🧪

The Roman Space Telescope, named after Nancy Grace Roman, is a Hubble-sized telescope that will revolutionize astronomy by building on the science discoveries and technological leaps of the Hubble and JWST space telescopes. Currently planning for launch in late 2026.