Rubin Observatory Captures Early Observations of Interstellar Comet 3I/ATLAS

The NSF-DOE Vera C. Rubin Observatory has successfully observed and measured the interstellar object 3I/ATLAS (C/2025 N1), providing valuable data on its astrometry, photometry, morphology, and activity. The observatory recovered detections of the comet from June 21, 2025, ten days before its official discovery, through July 20, 2025. These early observations were facilitated by Rubin's high resolution and large aperture, allowing for precise measurements of the object's on-sky locations in Rubin ugrizy bands, with a typical precision of about 70 mas. Photometry in grizy bands was also measured with high precision, around 0.01 mag. The data revealed Rubin colors of g - r = (0.657 +/- 0.013) mag, r - i = (0.235 +/- 0.018) mag, i - z = (0.147 +/- 0.042) mag, z - y = (0.047 +/- 0.052) mag. These observations represent the earliest data collected by a large (>=8-meter class) telescope on this interstellar object. They demonstrate the capabilities of the Rubin Observatory and foreshadow the type of measurements and discoveries that will be provided by the Legacy Survey of Space and Time (LSST) when it begins in early 2026. The successful observation and characterization of 3I/ATLAS highlight the importance of large-scale surveys for detecting and studying rare and transient astronomical phenomena.

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