3I/ATLAS Comet’s Closest Method to Earth This Week

Nicely, NASA not too long ago made it official: Comet 3I/ATLAS is simply what it appears like – a comet from past our photo voltaic system. In late November, NASA held a televised press convention to place the comet 3I/ATLAS rumours to mattress.

“It appears and behaves like a comet, and all proof factors to it being a comet. However this one got here from outdoors the photo voltaic system, which makes it fascinating, thrilling and scientifically crucial,” NASA Affiliate Administrator Amit Kshatriya instructed reporters in the course of the press briefing.

Here is the total story on NASA’s tackle comet 3I/ATLAS.

Tariq Malik

Comet 3I/ATLAS’s discovery in 2025 adopted the invention of the primary interstellar object, 1I/‘Oumuamua, in 2017. Two years later, one other object was noticed. That one was referred to as comet 2I/Borisov in 2019. Each ‘Oumuamua and 2I/Borisov spent months passing by the photo voltaic system, solely to depart us behind for the void of interstellar area.

The identical destiny awaits 3I/ATLAS, so we must always benefit from the comet whereas it is with us.

You’ll be able to monitor comet 3I/ATLAS your self with the assistance of NASA’s Eyes On The Photo voltaic System webpage, which has a “Distance Software” that means that you can calculate the separation between the comet and another photo voltaic system object included within the simulation.

Tariq Malik

Astrophysicist Gianluca Masi of the Digital Telescope Undertaking will host a free livestream of comet 3I/ATLAS on Thursday, Dec. 18, at 11 p.m. EST Dec. 18 (0400 GMT on Dec. 19), climate allowing. You’ll be able to watch the livestream right here on House.com.

Masi’s livestream will run by comet 3I/ATLAS’s closest strategy at 1 a.m. EST (0600 GMT), however will rely on good climate from his telescope’s observing website.

The comet is just too faint to be seen with the bare eye and will probably be difficult even for small yard telescopes. Beneath darkish skies, observers with a telescope of 8 inches or bigger might be able to spot it as a faint, fuzzy patch of sunshine. Learn watch the comet 3I/ATLAS flyby stay on-line.

Tariq Malik

What appeared like a standard July evening ended up making historical past when astronomer Larry Denneau on the College of Hawaii’s Institute for Astronomy found a brand new shifting object whereas scrolling by information from ATLAS — the Asteroid Terrestrial-impact Final Alert System.”I used to be the particular person reviewing on the time that 3I popped out of the pipeline,” Denneau instructed House.com “And on the time, it seemed like a very backyard selection new Close to Earth Object.”

Learn the total story behind the invention of comet 3I/ATLAS right here.

Tariq Malik

Comet 3I/ATLAS is the third giant interstellar customer (an asteroid or a comet) recognized to have handed by our photo voltaic system from past our photo voltaic system. By learning it carefully, astronomers hope to study extra about different celestial objects by telescope observations.

“It has since been careening by the interstellar medium of the Milky Means galaxy for billions of years,” Darryl Z. Seligman, an assistant professor of physics and astronomy at Michigan State College, wrote in an op-ed. “And we get front-row seats to observe because it will get near our solar, for what is sort of certainly the primary time it has ever gotten near a star”.

Learn the total op-ed on the comet’s Earth flyby right here.

Tariq Malik

Good morning, House Followers! As of right now, we’re T-2 days till the interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS makes its closest strategy to Earth after which we’ll need to say our goodbyes.

Whether or not or not you are in Crew Comet or Crew “Might It Be A Spaceship?” 3I/ATLAS has dominated the comet dialog since its discovery on July 1 by the ATLAS telescope in Chile. On Friday, Dec. 19, 2025, the comet will probably be at its closest to Earth at a spread of roughly 168 million miles (270 million kilometers) earlier than heading out of our photo voltaic system for good.

Over the following two days, we’ll chronicle comet 3I/ATLAS’s Earth flyby, and revisit its passage by our photo voltaic system — and its legacy.

Learn our full preview of the comet’s Earth flyby.

Tariq Malik