Interstellar Comet 3I/ATLAS made its closest method to Earth on December 19, at a distance of 274 million kilometers. NASA has launched distinctive pictures of this object, which originates from one other star system.
The interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS made its closest method to Earth on December 19, the Worldwide Area Station's X account reported, based on UNN.
Particulars
"The interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS made its closest method to Earth on December 19 – roughly 170 million miles (about 274 million km) away," the ISS X message said.
On the identical time, they revealed gorgeous pictures of 4 different comets taken from the station since 2023.
In the meantime, NASA beforehand confirmed distinctive pictures of the interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS, which have been supplied to scientists by the SPHEREx spacecraft.
Picture of interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS from NASA/SPHEREx
The place did this interstellar object come from?
As NASA reported, comet 3I/ATLAS shaped in one other star system and was someway "ejected" into interstellar area, that means the area between stars. For thousands and thousands and even billions of years, it drifted till it just lately reached our Photo voltaic System. It approached from the overall course of the constellation Sagittarius, the place the central area of our galaxy, the Milky Approach, is positioned. On the time of its discovery, 3I/ATLAS was roughly 410 million miles (670 million kilometers) from the Solar, inside Jupiter's orbit.
How was it decided that 3I/ATLAS didn’t originate from our Photo voltaic System?
In line with NASA, observations of the comet's trajectory present that it’s transferring too quick to be gravitationally sure to the Solar, and that it’s on a so-called hyperbolic trajectory. In different phrases, it’s not transferring in a closed orbit across the Solar. It’s merely passing via our Photo voltaic System and can proceed its journey into interstellar area, by no means to be seen once more.
What number of interstellar objects have been found?
That is the third identified interstellar object noticed passing via our Photo voltaic System. Found in 2017, ‘Oumuamua was the primary such object; the second was 2I/Borisov, which was found in 2019.
Is 3I/ATLAS an asteroid or a comet?
Via telescopic observations, as famous by NASA, astronomers can inform that 3I/ATLAS is energetic, that means it has an icy nucleus and a coma (a brilliant cloud of fuel and dirt surrounding a comet because it approaches the Solar). For this reason astronomers classify it as a comet, not an asteroid.
What’s the dimension of 3I/ATLAS?
As NASA notes, astronomers don’t but know precisely how massive comet 3I/ATLAS is, however from observations by the Hubble Area Telescope as of August 20, 2025, they will see that its nucleus diameter is a minimum of 440 meters and not more than 5.6 kilometers.
Is there a hazard of this interstellar object colliding with Earth?
As NASA signifies, the reply is not any. Though 3I/ATLAS's trajectory took it barely past Mars' orbit, it was transferring away from the Solar and won’t method Earth in any respect. At its closest method, the comet will nonetheless be very removed from our planet, virtually twice the space from the Solar: on December 19, 2025, 3I/ATLAS will likely be roughly 1.8 astronomical models (about 270 million kilometers) from Earth.
How briskly is it transferring?
In line with NASA, very quick. When it was found in Jupiter's orbit, the interstellar comet was transferring at about 137,000 miles per hour (221,000 kilometers per hour).
Since then, 3I/ATLAS has continued to maneuver alongside its predicted (hyperbolic) path. Beneath the affect of the Solar's gravity, its pace, as anticipated, elevated, reaching 153,000 miles per hour (246,000 kilometers per hour) at perihelion – its closest method to the Solar.
Now, because it strikes away from the Solar, the comet's pace, as anticipated, is lowering because it continues to be affected by the Solar's gravitational pull. When the comet leaves the Photo voltaic System, will probably be transferring on the identical pace it entered.
As comets method the Solar, they warmth up and launch fuel as their ice sublimates. This fuel launch may cause small perturbations or very minor adjustments of their trajectories. Observations of 3I/ATLAS present that these perturbations are certainly small and according to this course of.
The place are you able to monitor the present place of the comet within the Photo voltaic System?
NASA's "Eyes on the Photo voltaic System" on-line simulation reveals the present location and path of 3I/ATLAS because it strikes via our Photo voltaic System.
Can the comet be seen from Earth?
In October 2025, the comet handed behind the Solar and may now be noticed once more from Earth. Actually, astrometric observations resumed on October 31.
3I/ATLAS will be noticed even with a small telescope within the pre-dawn sky and can stay seen till spring 2026.