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

Gillan, A. Fraser; Wyrzykowski, Łukasz; Mikołajczyk, Przemysław J.; Kotysz, Krzysztof; Bufanda, Erica; Chandler, Colin O.; Fișek, Süleyman; Hsieh, Henry H.; Kelley, Michael S. P.; Pessi, Priscila J.; Robinson, James E.; Aliș, Sinan; Bykowski, Wieńczysław; Cannon, Richard E.; Dominik, Martin; Handzlik, Barbara; İçen, Mehmet; Kurowski, Sebastian; Kutluay, Ahmet Cem; Majumdar, Joysankar; Nehir, Çağlayan; O'Neill, David; Ötken, Sibel; Pu, Kangming; Şimșir, Özlem; Snodgrass, Colin; Tezcan, Cihan Tuğrul; Tezcan, Fatma; Wicker, Mauritz; Korhan Yelkenci, Fuat; Żejmo, Michał; Ackley, Kendall; Andersen, Michael; Ávalos-Vega, Catalina; Belkin, Sergey; Bozza, Valerio; Breton, Rene P.; Burgdorf, Martin J.; Casares, Jorge; Dhillon, Vik; Donaldson, Abbie; Dyer, Martin J.; Figuera Jaimes, Roberto; Galloway, Duncan K.; Hinse, Tobias C.; Hundertmark, Markus; Khalouei, Elahe; Killestein, Thomas; Kotak, Rubina; Kumar, Amit; Liu, Feng-Yuan Frey; Longa-Peña, Penelope; Lyman, Joe; Mancini, Luigi; Moharana, Ayush; Molina, Valeska; Noysena, Kanthanakorn; Nuttall, Laura Kate; O'Brien, Paul; Okoth, Vincent; Opitom, Cyrielle; Pollacco, Don; Rabus, Markus; Ramsay, Gavin; Sajadian, Sedighe; Salinas San Martin, A.; Skottfelt, Jesper; Southworth, John; Steeghs, Danny; Tregloan-Reed, Jeremy; Ulaczyk, Krzysztof; Vieliute, Roberta
Bibliographical reference

Astronomy and Astrophysics

Advertised on:
10
2026
Number of authors
72
IAC number of authors
1
Citations
6
Refereed citations
0
Description
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 Rh = 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 Prot = 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 > Rh > 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.