NASA's cosmic mapmaker – SPHEREx – has joined the effort to learn more about the interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS ☄️ The infrared space telescope observed the comet earlier this month, providing more info about its size, physical properties, and chemical makeup. While Comet 3I/ATLAS doesn’t pose a threat to Earth, NASA's space telescopes help support our ongoing mission to find, track, and better understand solar system objects. Learn more: https://science.nasa.gov/blogs/3iatlas/ | NASA Jet Propulsio

A 20 km interstellar object like Atlas should be nearly impossible… yet here it is. Unlike ‘Oumuamua — long and cigar-shaped — Atlas is massive, closer to 12 miles across. But with only one example, how do we even estimate the odds? Sometimes the cosmos reminds us: the rarest events… still happen. | The Randall Carlson