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Peer-reviewedCC BYAstronomy and Astrophysics

Time-domain photometry and activity evolution of interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS with BHTOM

  • A. Fraser Gillan1
  • Ł. Wyrzykowski2,1,3
  • P. Mikołajczyk4,1
  • Krzysztof Kotysz4,2
  • Erica Bufanda5
  • Colin O. Chandler6,7,8
  • Süleyman Fişek9,10
  • Henry H. Hsieh11
  • Michael S. P. Kelley12
  • P. J. Pessi1
  • James E. Robinson5
  • SİNAN ALİŞ9,10
60 more authors
  • Wieńczysław Bykowski3,13
  • Richard Cannon5
  • M. Dominik14
  • Barbara Handzlik15
  • Mehmet İçen9
  • Sebastian Kurowski15
  • A C Kutluay16,17,18
  • Joysankar Majumdar2
  • Çağlayan Nehir19
  • David O'Neill20
  • Sibel Ötken9
  • Kangming Pu21
  • Özlem Şimşir16,17
  • C. Snodgrass5
  • Cihan Tuğrul Tezcan22
  • F Tezcan23
  • Mauritz M. Wicker2,24
  • Fuat Korhan YELKENCİ9
  • M. Żejmo25
  • K. Ackley26
  • M. Andersen27
  • C. Ávalos-Vega28
  • S. Belkin21
  • V. Bozza29,30
  • R. P. Breton31
  • M. J. Burgdorf32
  • J. Casares33
  • V. S. Dhillon34
  • A J Donaldson5
  • Martin J. Dyer34
  • R. Figuera Jaimes14,35,36,37
  • Duncan K. Galloway21
  • T. C. Hinse38
  • M. Hundertmark39
  • Elahe Khalouei40
  • Thomas L. Killestein26
  • Rubina Kotak
  • Amit Kumar26
  • Feng-Yuan Frey Liu5
  • Penélope Longa-Peña28
  • J. D. Lyman26
  • Luigi Mancini
  • Ayush Moharana18
  • V. Molina36
  • K. Noysena
  • Laura K. Nuttall
  • Paul O'Brien
  • V. Okoth5

60 listed; 72 in total.

40 affiliations
  1. 1Astrophysics Division, National Centre for Nuclear Research
  2. 2Astronomical Observatory, University of Warsaw
  3. 3European Astronomical Society of Small Telescopes (EASST.eu)
  4. 4Astronomical Institute, University of Wrocław
  5. 5Institute for Astronomy, University of Edinburgh, Royal Observatory
  6. 6Dept. of Astronomy & Planetary Science, Northern Arizona University
  7. 7Dept. of Astronomy & the DiRAC Institute, University of Washington
  8. 8LSST Interdisciplinary Network for Collaboration and Computing Frameworks
  9. 9Department of Astronomy and Space Sciences, Faculty of Science, Istanbul University
  10. 10Istanbul University Observatory Research and Application Center
  11. 11Planetary Science Institute
  12. 12Department of Astronomy, University of Maryland
  13. 13Max Planck Institute for Solar System Research
  14. 14Centre for Exoplanet Science, SUPA School of Physics & Astronomy, University of St Andrews, North Haugh
  15. 15Astronomical Observatory, Jagiellonian University
  16. 16Ankara University, Astronomy and Space Sciences Research and Application Center (Kreiken Observatory)
  17. 17Ankara University, Faculty of Science, Astronomy & Space Sciences Department, Tandogan
  18. 18Astrophysics Group, Keele University
  19. 19Türkiye National Observatories, TUG
  20. 20School of Physics and Astronomy, University of Birmingham
  21. 21School of Physics and Astronomy, Monash University
  22. 22Türkiye National Observatories, DAG
  23. 23Atatürk University, Institute of Science, Department of Astronomy and Astrophysics
  24. 24Isaac Newton Group of Telescopes
  25. 25Janusz Gil Institute of Astronomy, University of Zielona Gora
  26. 26Department of Physics, University of Warwick
  27. 27Niels Bohr Institute
  28. 28Centro de Astronomía, Universidad de Antofagasta
  29. 29Dipartimento di Fisica “E.R. Caianiello”, Università di Salerno
  30. 30Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare, Sezione di Napoli
  31. 31Jodrell Bank Centre for Astrophysics, Department of Physics and Astronomy, The University of Manchester
  32. 32Earth System Sciences, Atmospheric Science, University of Hamburg
  33. 33Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias
  34. 34Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Sheffield
  35. 35Instituto de Astrofísica, Facultad de Física, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile
  36. 36Instituto de Astronomia y Ciencias Planetarias, Universidad de Atacama
  37. 37Millennium Institute of Astrophysics MAS
  38. 38University of Southern Denmark, Department of Physics, Chemistry and Pharmacy
  39. 39Astronomisches Rechen-Institut, Zentrum für Astronomie der Universität Heidelberg (ZAH)
  40. 40Department of Physics, Ewha Womans University
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Abstract

Context . Time-domain photometric monitoring is essential for characterizing cometary evolution, particularly for rare interstellar objects with limited observing opportunities. Aims . We aimed to characterize the pre-perihelion photometric behavior and dust activity of the interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS and to test the capability of the Black Hole Target and Observation Manager (BHTOM) platform and telescope network for coordinated high-cadence non-sidereal observations. Methods . We obtained 70 days of time-series photometry of 3I/ATLAS from 2025 July 4 to September 11 using 16 telescopes and 1554 images. The data were processed and calibrated with the BHTOM pipeline. High-cadence multiband imaging was used to measure the rotation period and color evolution, while the dust activity was quantified via Afρ measurements. Results . We present a pre-perihelion light curve of 3I/ATLAS from R h = 3.18–2.19 au, which exhibited a steady brightening by ∼3 magnitudes with no evidence of anomalous behavior. We measured a rotation period of P rot = 15.98 ± 0.08 h. The colors were statistically non-changing, with only a weak, non-significant tendency for 3I/ATLAS to become bluer at 3.5 > R h > 2.2 au. The relative dust production increased from A (0°) fρ ∼600 to 1100 cm, and the upper limit on the dust mass-loss rate increased from ≤217 kg s −1 to ≤328 kg s −1 . We measured an activity index of n = −1.24 ± 0.02, which is consistent with a well-developed dust coma.

Related

  1. The Inbound Gas and Dust Evolution of Interstellar Comet 3I/ATLAS from Optical Spectroscopy and Multiband Photometry*
    T. Santana-Ros, Alexey V. Sergeyev, Oleksandra V. Ivanova +9
    The Astrophysical JournalPeer-reviewedCC BYFull text5 citedPlanetary science & exoplanetsOpenAlex
  2. Dust Activity Evolution and Constraints on Icy Grains in the Interstellar Comet 3I/ATLAS
    Bin Liu, Xiaoping Zhang, Xiaodong Liu +1
    arXivPreprintarXiv licenceFull textGalaxiesPlanetary science & exoplanetsarXiv
  3. Origin and evolution of NiI and FeI in the coma of the interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS throughout its trajectory
    Damien Hutsemékers, Jean Manfroid, Cyrielle Opitom +8
    Astronomy & AstrophysicsPeer-reviewedPublisher termsSolar & stellar physicsCrossref
  4. Characterization of the anisotropic dust activity of interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS
    Bin Liu, Xiaoping Zhang, Xiaodong Liu +1
    Astronomy & AstrophysicsPeer-reviewedPublisher termsPlanetary science & exoplanetsCrossref
  5. Photometry and analysis of comet 220P/McNaught during the 2026 outbursts
    Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical SocietyPeer-reviewedCC BY 4.0Solar & stellar physicsOUP

Cite

BibTeXRIS
BibTeX
@article{gillan2026timedomain,
  title = {{Time-domain photometry and activity evolution of interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS with BHTOM}},
  author = {A. Fraser Gillan and Ł. Wyrzykowski and P. Mikołajczyk and Krzysztof Kotysz and Erica Bufanda and Colin O. Chandler and Süleyman Fişek and Henry H. Hsieh and Michael S. P. Kelley and P. J. Pessi and James E. Robinson and SİNAN ALİŞ and Wieńczysław Bykowski and Richard Cannon and M. Dominik and Barbara Handzlik and Mehmet İçen and Sebastian Kurowski and A C Kutluay and Joysankar Majumdar and Çağlayan Nehir and David O'Neill and Sibel Ötken and Kangming Pu and Özlem Şimşir and C. Snodgrass and Cihan Tuğrul Tezcan and F Tezcan and Mauritz M. Wicker and Fuat Korhan YELKENCİ and M. Żejmo and K. Ackley and M. Andersen and C. Ávalos-Vega and S. Belkin and V. Bozza and R. P. Breton and M. J. Burgdorf and J. Casares and V. S. Dhillon and A J Donaldson and Martin J. Dyer and R. Figuera Jaimes and Duncan K. Galloway and T. C. Hinse and M. Hundertmark and Elahe Khalouei and Thomas L. Killestein and Rubina Kotak and Amit Kumar and Feng-Yuan Frey Liu and Penélope Longa-Peña and J. D. Lyman and Luigi Mancini and Ayush Moharana and V. Molina and K. Noysena and Laura K. Nuttall and Paul O'Brien and V. Okoth},
  journal = {Astronomy and Astrophysics},
  year = {2026},
  month = aug,
  doi = {10.1051/0004-6361/202659913},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.1051/0004-6361/202659913},
  note = {CC BY},
}
RIS
TY  - JOUR
TI  - Time-domain photometry and activity evolution of interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS with BHTOM
AU  - A. Fraser Gillan
AU  - Ł. Wyrzykowski
AU  - P. Mikołajczyk
AU  - Krzysztof Kotysz
AU  - Erica Bufanda
AU  - Colin O. Chandler
AU  - Süleyman Fişek
AU  - Henry H. Hsieh
AU  - Michael S. P. Kelley
AU  - P. J. Pessi
AU  - James E. Robinson
AU  - SİNAN ALİŞ
AU  - Wieńczysław Bykowski
AU  - Richard Cannon
AU  - M. Dominik
AU  - Barbara Handzlik
AU  - Mehmet İçen
AU  - Sebastian Kurowski
AU  - A C Kutluay
AU  - Joysankar Majumdar
AU  - Çağlayan Nehir
AU  - David O'Neill
AU  - Sibel Ötken
AU  - Kangming Pu
AU  - Özlem Şimşir
AU  - C. Snodgrass
AU  - Cihan Tuğrul Tezcan
AU  - F Tezcan
AU  - Mauritz M. Wicker
AU  - Fuat Korhan YELKENCİ
AU  - M. Żejmo
AU  - K. Ackley
AU  - M. Andersen
AU  - C. Ávalos-Vega
AU  - S. Belkin
AU  - V. Bozza
AU  - R. P. Breton
AU  - M. J. Burgdorf
AU  - J. Casares
AU  - V. S. Dhillon
AU  - A J Donaldson
AU  - Martin J. Dyer
AU  - R. Figuera Jaimes
AU  - Duncan K. Galloway
AU  - T. C. Hinse
AU  - M. Hundertmark
AU  - Elahe Khalouei
AU  - Thomas L. Killestein
AU  - Rubina Kotak
AU  - Amit Kumar
AU  - Feng-Yuan Frey Liu
AU  - Penélope Longa-Peña
AU  - J. D. Lyman
AU  - Luigi Mancini
AU  - Ayush Moharana
AU  - V. Molina
AU  - K. Noysena
AU  - Laura K. Nuttall
AU  - Paul O'Brien
AU  - V. Okoth
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/08/14
JO  - Astronomy and Astrophysics
DO  - 10.1051/0004-6361/202659913
UR  - https://doi.org/10.1051/0004-6361/202659913
AB  - Context . Time-domain photometric monitoring is essential for characterizing cometary evolution, particularly for rare interstellar objects with limited observing opportunities. Aims . We aimed to characterize the pre-perihelion photometric behavior and dust activity of the interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS and to test the capability of the Black Hole Target and Observation Manager (BHTOM) platform and telescope network for coordinated high-cadence non-sidereal observations. Methods . We obtained 70 days of time-series photometry of 3I/ATLAS from 2025 July 4 to September 11 using 16 telescopes and 1554 images. The data were processed and calibrated with the BHTOM pipeline. High-cadence multiband imaging was used to measure the rotation period and color evolution, while the dust activity was quantified via Afρ measurements. Results . We present a pre-perihelion light curve of 3I/ATLAS from R h = 3.18–2.19 au, which exhibited a steady brightening by ∼3 magnitudes with no evidence of anomalous behavior. We measured a rotation period of P rot = 15.98 ± 0.08 h. The colors were statistically non-changing, with only a weak, non-significant tendency for 3I/ATLAS to become bluer at 3.5 > R h > 2.2 au. The relative dust production increased from A (0°) fρ ∼600 to 1100 cm, and the upper limit on the dust mass-loss rate increased from ≤217 kg s −1 to ≤328 kg s −1 . We measured an activity index of n = −1.24 ± 0.02, which is consistent with a well-developed dust coma.
SN  - 0004-6361
SN  - 1432-0746
ER  -