NASA discovers new interstellar comet
NASA has confirmed a rare visitor: comet 3I/ATLAS, spotted by the ATLAS telescope in Chile on July 1, 2025.
It's only the third known object from outside our solar system (after `Oumuamua and 2I/Borisov) and is currently about 670 million kilometers from the Sun, traveling through the constellation Sagittarius.
Key dates for the comet
3I/ATLAS will swing closest to the Sun on October 30, passing near Mars's orbit but staying safely over 1.6 AU away from Earth.
You can catch it with ground-based telescopes until September—then it gets too close to the Sun for a bit, but look out for another viewing window in early December.
Watch it live!
The Virtual Telescope Project is streaming live views of this cosmic traveler so anyone can watch.
Early observations show hints of a faint coma and short tail—classic comet vibes!
Studying it could help scientists learn more about what interstellar objects are made of.