Interstellar object 3I/ATLAS survived a solar plasma cloud impact and is now observed near the Sun.

We are publishing a unique video showing the movement of the object 3I/ATLAS near the Sun. The Sun itself is out of frame (bottom left), but the plasma structures it ejects are visible.

We obtained this video using data from the LASCO/C3 coronagraph—an ultra-sensitive instrument designed specifically to observe faint objects near the solar disk, precisely where 3I/ATLAS, which arrived from other stars, is currently hiding from observation. We previously reported that LASCO doesn't see this object (https://t.me/lpixras/1646), but a well-known trick helped us. For each moment in time, we combined 20 frames (10 before and 10 after), which averages out random noise but maintains a constant, even weak, signal. And the object became VISIBLE.

What did we see? 3I/ATLAS is still near the Sun on its predicted trajectory. Its motion relative to the stars it is passing is clearly visible. The signal from the object is extremely weak (the device essentially detects individual photons), so it's impossible to say anything about the object's condition. But the important thing is that the video continues until the end of October 25th, precisely up to the moment when, according to all calculations, the large plasma cloud ejected by the Sun should have struck the object (https://t.me/lpixras/1670). And it's clear that the object is intact. We tried to draw more precise conclusions, for example, whether the object's brightness increased or decreased, but this proved impossible. With a bit of imagination, one could discern some dynamics in the object's location, even as if it were fragmenting, but with such low sensitivity, this is almost certainly false information (processing artifacts).

Why didn't we track the object further? The answer is simple: the object moved beyond the device's field of view. LASCO is currently no longer observing it. The fact that we were able to observe the object dynamically over the past two days is a great miracle and a stroke of luck. Now we just have to wait until mid-November, when the celestial body will be observed, at first uncertainly, and then with increasing precision, by optical instruments from Earth. The PUNCH constellation of small satellites may also be able to provide some limited data.

The day after tomorrow, October 29, marks a very important day for all proponents of the spacecraft or probe theory: the object will pass perihelion, its closest point to the Sun and, at the same time, an almost ideal position for changing its trajectory. Of course, it won't be possible to observe this process, but in this case, after moving away from the Sun, the body will end up in a completely different place than expected. However, based on recent discussions, even the most ardent supporters of an alien visitation are gradually coming to terms with the body's natural origin (its cometary nature).

PS. If anyone would like to process the raw data themselves and extract any missing information, the LASCO dataset used (115 frames in PNG format; ZIP archive; 52 MB) is available at this link.
With good eyesight, the object can be seen at its limit in the unprocessed frames in slideshow mode.