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The interstellar comet 2I/Borisov is the first interstellar object where compositional characterisation was possible throughout its entire perihelion passage. We report all 16 epochs of a comprehensive optical observation campaign with ESO…

We present high resolution imaging observations of interstellar comet 2I/Borisov (formerly C/2019 Q4) obtained using the Hubble Space Telescope. Scattering from the comet is dominated by a coma of large particles (characteristic size 0.1…

Earth and Planetary Astrophysics · Physics 2020-01-29 David Jewitt , Man-To Hui , Yoonyoung Kim , Max Mutchler , Harold Weaver , Jessica Agarwal

Interstellar objects provide a direct window into the environmental conditions around stars other than the Sun. The recent discovery of 3I/ATLAS, a new interstellar comet, offers a unique opportunity to investigate the physical and chemical…

The interstellar traveler, 2I/Borisov, is the first clearly active extrasolar comet, ever detected in our Solar system. We obtained high-resolution interferometric observations of 2I/Borisov with the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter…

Based on the occurrence rates implied by the discoveries of 1I/`Oumuamua and 2I/Borisov, the forthcoming Rubin Observatory Legacy Survey of Space and Time (LSST) should detect $\ge1$ interstellar objects every year (Hoover et al. 2021). We…

We present Hubble Space Telescope observations of a photometric outburst and splitting event in interstellar comet 2I/Borisov. The outburst, first reported with the comet outbound at 2.8 AU (Drahus et al.~2020), was caused by the expulsion…

Earth and Planetary Astrophysics · Physics 2020-07-01 David Jewitt , Yoonyoung Kim , Max Mutchler , Harold Weaver , Jessica Agarwal , Man-To Hui

Interstellar Objects (ISO) passing through our Solar System offer a rare opportunity to probe the physical and chemical processes involved in solid body and planet formation in extrasolar systems. The main objective of our study is to…

Earth and Planetary Astrophysics · Physics 2020-02-05 Bin Yang , Michael S. P. Kelley , Karen J. Meech , Jacqueline V. Keane , Silvia Protopapa , Schelte J. Bus

Hubble Space Telescope observations of interstellar comet 2I/Borisov near perihelion show the ejection of large (>~100 um) particles at <~9 m/s speeds, with estimated mass-loss rates of ~35 kg/s. The total mass loss from comet Borisov…

Earth and Planetary Astrophysics · Physics 2020-06-10 Yoonyoung Kim , David Jewitt , Max Mutchler , Jessica Agarwal , Man-To Hui , Harold Weaver

We present a study of interstellar comet 2I/2019 Q4 (Borisov) using both preperihelion and postperihelion observations spanning late September 2019 through late January 2020. The intrinsic brightness of the comet was observed to…

Earth and Planetary Astrophysics · Physics 2020-06-17 Man-To Hui , Quan-Zhi Ye , Dora Föhring , Denise Hung , David J. Tholen

We present time-series medium-band (R~20-40) observations of the third interstellar object 3I/ATLAS (C/2025 N1) obtained with the 7-Dimensional Telescope (7DT), enabling spatially resolved monitoring of its gas and dust activity from 2025…

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 the comet's nucleus or from a short-lived parent. These…

We describe pre-perihelion optical observations of interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS taken during July - September 2025 using the Nordic Optical Telescope. Fixed aperture photometry of the comet is well described by a power law function of…

Earth and Planetary Astrophysics · Physics 2025-11-07 David Jewitt , Jane Luu

1I/'Oumuamua (or 1I) and 2I/Borisov (or 2I), the first InterStellar Objects (ISOs) discovered passing through the solar system, have opened up entirely new areas of exobody research. Finding additional ISOs and planning missions to…

Object 1I/2017 U1 (`Oumuamua) is the first interstellar small body ever discovered in the solar system. By the time of discovery, it had already passed perihelion. To investigate the behavior of `Oumuamua around perihelion, we searched for…

Earth and Planetary Astrophysics · Physics 2020-01-08 Man-To Hui , Matthew M. Knight

We present an analysis of the photometric and spectroscopic data of the comet C/2012 S1 (ISON) observed at the heliocentric distances of 6.21\div 4.81 AU. The photometric observations were made with the 60-cm Zeiss-600 telescope (ICAMER,…

Follow-up imaging observations of the first detected interstellar comet 2I/Borisov are presented, which were carried out with the Schmidt-Teleskop-Kamera at the University Observatory Jena in 11 observing epochs in October and November…

Earth and Planetary Astrophysics · Physics 2020-06-03 M. Mugrauer , R. Bischoff , W. Stenglein , J. Trautmann , B. Baghdasaryan , S. Schlagenhauf

We report on the prediscovery observations and constraints of the new interstellar comet 3I/2025 N1 (ATLAS), made by the Zwicky Transient Facility (ZTF), for the inbound leg of the comet out to a heliocentric distance of $r_\mathrm{h}=17$…

We report the detection of water activity in the third confirmed interstellar object, 3I/ATLAS, based on ultraviolet imaging with the \emph{Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory}'s Ultraviolet/Optical Telescope (UVOT). Assuming a reddening of 29\%…

Earth and Planetary Astrophysics · Physics 2025-09-08 Zexi Xing , Shawn Oset , John Noonan , Dennis Bodewits

The detection of interstellar bodies passing near the Sun offers the opportunity to observe not just objects similar to those in the solar system, but also unfamiliar objects without solar system analogues. Here I show that Asymptotic Giant…

Earth and Planetary Astrophysics · Physics 2020-01-03 T. Marshall Eubanks