Prospects for the Crossing of Comet 3I/ATLAS's Ion Tail
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arXiv
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| Format: | Preprint |
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2025
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| _version_ | 1866914097845501952 |
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| author | Grant, Samuel R. Jones, Geraint H. |
| author_facet | Grant, Samuel R. Jones, Geraint H. |
| contents | During October - November 2025, interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS, will pass upstream of the Europa Clipper and Hera spacecraft. Here, we identify two potential opportunities for in-situ observations of 3I's ion tail by immersion, facilitated by the close alignment between the comet's hyperbolic trajectory with the ecliptic plane. During the period 30 October - 6 November 2025, it is predicted that Europa Clipper will potentially be immersed within the ion tail of 3I/ATLAS, providing the opportunity to detect the signatures of an interstellar comet's ion tail. Characteristic changes to the solar wind are also expected to be observed; a magnetic draping structure associated with the comet may be identifiable. It is further predicted that spacecraft Hera will possibly be immersed within the ion tail of 3I/ATLAS during the period 25 October - 1 November 2025. |
| format | Preprint |
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arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2510_13222 |
| institution | arXiv |
| publishDate | 2025 |
| record_format | arxiv |
| spellingShingle | Prospects for the Crossing of Comet 3I/ATLAS's Ion Tail Grant, Samuel R. Jones, Geraint H. Earth and Planetary Astrophysics Astrophysics of Galaxies Instrumentation and Methods for Astrophysics During October - November 2025, interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS, will pass upstream of the Europa Clipper and Hera spacecraft. Here, we identify two potential opportunities for in-situ observations of 3I's ion tail by immersion, facilitated by the close alignment between the comet's hyperbolic trajectory with the ecliptic plane. During the period 30 October - 6 November 2025, it is predicted that Europa Clipper will potentially be immersed within the ion tail of 3I/ATLAS, providing the opportunity to detect the signatures of an interstellar comet's ion tail. Characteristic changes to the solar wind are also expected to be observed; a magnetic draping structure associated with the comet may be identifiable. It is further predicted that spacecraft Hera will possibly be immersed within the ion tail of 3I/ATLAS during the period 25 October - 1 November 2025. |
| title | Prospects for the Crossing of Comet 3I/ATLAS's Ion Tail |
| topic | Earth and Planetary Astrophysics Astrophysics of Galaxies Instrumentation and Methods for Astrophysics |
| url | https://arxiv.org/abs/2510.13222 |