Comet 3I/ATLAS, only the third interstellar object ever detected to pass through our solar system, will be making its closest approach to Earth on Friday, December 19, according to NASA. Although NASA ...

Sometimes "the universe comes to us," writes the European Space Agency. On Friday it came really close, when comet 3l/ATLAS passed by us at a ― relatively ― short distance. What exactly is this ...

A deep image of interstellar Comet 3I/ATLAS captured by J. Miller & M. Rodriguez (International Gemini Observatory/NSF NOIRLab), T.A. Rector (University of Alaska Anchorage/NSF NOIRLab) and M. Zamani ...

There has been a lot of buzz around interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS over the past couple of months. It is the third confirmed visitor from beyond our sola.

On Dec. 19, 3I/ATLAS will be about 1.8 astronomical units away (170 million miles), almost twice as far as the average distance between Earth and the Sun (1AU orr about 93 million miles), according to ...

3I/ATLAS, an interstellar object identified by NASA as a comet, will swing by Earth in its closest approach this week. Scientists have been tracking the comet’s grand tour of our solar system since it ...

A stray comet from another star swings past Earth this week in one last hurrah before racing back toward interstellar space. Discovered over the summer, the comet known as 3I/Atlas will pass within ...

Interstellar visitor 3I/ATLAS is travelling away from the sun on its way back to interstellar space. When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here’s how it ...

Learn how you can say farewell to comet 3I/ATLAS as it passes by Earth on Dec. 19, 2025, and what we have learned during its brief visit near Earth.

Interstellar Comet 3I/ATLAS makes its closest Earth pass early on Dec. 19. Here's what astronomers know about its origin and speed.