Time-Domain Photometry and Activity Evolution of Interstellar Comet 3I/ATLAS with BHTOM

TL;DR

This study monitored interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS over 70 days using a network of telescopes to analyze its photometric behavior, rotation, and dust activity, demonstrating the effectiveness of the BHTOM platform for high-cadence observations.

Contribution

It provides the first detailed pre-perihelion photometric and activity profile of 3I/ATLAS using a coordinated telescope network and validates BHTOM for high-cadence comet monitoring.

Findings

Comet's brightness increased steadily by ~3 magnitudes pre-perihelion.

Rotation period measured at approximately 16 hours.

Dust activity and production rates increased as the comet approached perihelion.

Abstract

Time-domain photometric monitoring is essential for characterizing cometary evolution, particularly for rare interstellar objects with limited observing opportunities. 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. We obtained 70 days of time-series photometry of 3I/ATLAS from 2025 July 4 - September 11 using 16 telescopes and 1554 images. The data were processed and calibrated with the BHTOM pipeline. High-cadence, multi-band imaging was used to measure the rotation period and color evolution, while the dust activity was quantified via Afp measurements. We present a pre-perihelion light curve of 3I/ATLAS from Rh = 3.18 - 2.19 au, which exhibited a steady increase of ~3 magnitudes with no evidence of anomalous behavior. We measured a rotation period of P_rot = 15.98 +/- 0.08 h. The relative dust production increased from A(0)fp ~600 - 1100 cm, and the upper limit on the dust mass-loss rate increased from \leq 217 kg/s to \leq 328 kg/s. We measured an activity index of n = -1.24 +/- 0.02, consistent with a well-developed dust coma. 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.