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A predominantly black view of space is dotted with stars, seen as short white streaks, in an animated image that consists of two observations. In the right half of the image, interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS is a barely visible white smudge that becomes slightly more distinct in the second observation.

Perseverance Mars rover spots 3I/ATLAS

Interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS is seen as a faint smudge against a background starfield in two images taken by the Mastcam-Z instrument aboard NASA’s Perseverance Mars rover on Oct. 4, 2025. At the time it was imaged, the comet was about 18.6 million miles (29.9 million kilometers) from the rover, which was exploring the rim of the Red Planet’s Jezero Crater.

Image Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/ASU/MSSS
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Image CreditNASA/JPL-Caltech/ASU/MSSS
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