Pre-perihelion detection of a wobbling high-latitude jet in the interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS
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arXiv
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| Auteurs principaux: | , , |
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| Format: | Preprint |
| Publié: |
2025
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| _version_ | 1866908711553859584 |
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| author | Serra-Ricart, M. Licandro, J. Alarcon, M. R. |
| author_facet | Serra-Ricart, M. Licandro, J. Alarcon, M. R. |
| contents | We present observations of the detection of a faint high-latitude jet in the inner coma of comet 3I/ATLAS that coincides with the broad plume detected in visible images along PA $280 \pm 10^{\circ}$. A detailed analysis shows that the jet was clearly detected on seven nights (2025, August~3, 5, 18, 19, 21, 24, and~29). The jet maintains an almost, though not perfectly, constant position angle (PA) throughout these epochs. High-precision PA measurements at a projected distance of 6000~km from the cometary optocenter reveal a periodic modulation centered at ~ 280 degrees, consistent with a high-latitude jet undergoing precessional motion around the sky-projected spin axis of the nucleus. This is the first periodic jet-angle modulation detected in an interstellar comet. The derived periodicity of $7.74 \pm 0.35$ h may imply a nucleus rotation period of $P_{\mathrm{rot}} = 15.48 \pm 0.70$ h if the jet originates from a single active source near one of the poles. This value is slightly shorter than the period of $P_{\mathrm{rot}} = 16.79 \pm 0.23$ h derived from the photometric time series. From the measured PA range, the sky-projected orientation of the spin axis is derived as $\mathrm{PA} = 280.7 \pm 0.2^{\circ}$ |
| format | Preprint |
| id |
arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2512_12819 |
| institution | arXiv |
| publishDate | 2025 |
| record_format | arxiv |
| spellingShingle | Pre-perihelion detection of a wobbling high-latitude jet in the interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS Serra-Ricart, M. Licandro, J. Alarcon, M. R. Earth and Planetary Astrophysics Astrophysics of Galaxies Solar and Stellar Astrophysics We present observations of the detection of a faint high-latitude jet in the inner coma of comet 3I/ATLAS that coincides with the broad plume detected in visible images along PA $280 \pm 10^{\circ}$. A detailed analysis shows that the jet was clearly detected on seven nights (2025, August~3, 5, 18, 19, 21, 24, and~29). The jet maintains an almost, though not perfectly, constant position angle (PA) throughout these epochs. High-precision PA measurements at a projected distance of 6000~km from the cometary optocenter reveal a periodic modulation centered at ~ 280 degrees, consistent with a high-latitude jet undergoing precessional motion around the sky-projected spin axis of the nucleus. This is the first periodic jet-angle modulation detected in an interstellar comet. The derived periodicity of $7.74 \pm 0.35$ h may imply a nucleus rotation period of $P_{\mathrm{rot}} = 15.48 \pm 0.70$ h if the jet originates from a single active source near one of the poles. This value is slightly shorter than the period of $P_{\mathrm{rot}} = 16.79 \pm 0.23$ h derived from the photometric time series. From the measured PA range, the sky-projected orientation of the spin axis is derived as $\mathrm{PA} = 280.7 \pm 0.2^{\circ}$ |
| title | Pre-perihelion detection of a wobbling high-latitude jet in the interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS |
| topic | Earth and Planetary Astrophysics Astrophysics of Galaxies Solar and Stellar Astrophysics |
| url | https://arxiv.org/abs/2512.12819 |