5 papers
Transformational astrophysics and exoplanet science with Habitable Worlds Observatory's High Resolution Imager
Vincent Van Eylen, Richard Massey, Saeeda Awan +167
Habitable Worlds Observatory (HWO) will be NASA's flagship space telescope of the 2040s, designed to search for life on other planets and to transform broad areas of astrophysics.…
Pre-perihelion evolution of the NiI/FeI abundance ratio in the coma of the interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS. From extreme to normal
Damien Hutsemékers, Jean Manfroid, Emmanuël Jehin +9
Emission lines of FeI and NiI are commonly found in the coma of Solar System comets, even at large heliocentric distances. These atoms are most likely released from the surface of…
Very Large Telescope Observations of Interstellar Comet 3I/ATLAS. II. From Quiescence to Glow: Dramatic Rise of Ni i Emission and Incipient CN Outgassing at Large Heliocentric Distances*
Rohan Rahatgaonkar, Juan Pablo Carvajal, Thomas H. Puzia +25
We report VLT spectroscopy of the interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS (C/2025~N1) from to ~au using X-shooter (300--550\,nm, ) and UVES (opt…
Recent Chemo-morphological Coma Evolution of Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko
Brian P. Murphy, Cyrielle Opitom, Colin Snodgrass +5
We present VLT/MUSE observations of comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko during its 2021 perihelion passage, from which we generated simultaneous maps of dust, [OI], C, NH, and…
Snapshot of a new interstellar comet: 3I/ATLAS has a red and featureless spectrum
Cyrielle Opitom, Colin Snodgrass, Emmanuel Jehin +19
The interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS is only the third interstellar object to be discovered. Pre-perihelion measurements provide a unique opportunity to study its activity and compositi…