![This is a Hubble Space Telescope image of the interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS. Hubble photographed the comet on July 21, 2025, when the comet was 277 million miles from Earth. Hubble shows that the comet has a teardrop-shaped cocoon of dust coming off its solid, icy nucleus. Because Hubble was tracking the comet moving along a hyperbolic trajectory, the stationary background stars are streaked in the exposure. [Credit — Image: NASA, ESA, David Jewitt (UCLA); Image Processing: Joseph DePasquale (STScI)]](/cdn-cgi/image/onerror=redirect,width=640,height=640,format=webp/https://storage.googleapis.com/uploads.mongoosehq.com/url/media/67568703/bbaf014b38ae8bb1614573ceed7436c92f4a2c9f23ef93b2127a8c9e8640f8a4)
Overview
- Astronomer Qicheng Zhang reported the interstellar object back in Earth’s view and brighter than before, now detectable with small telescopes before sunrise.
- NASA and the Pentagon’s AARO say the visitor is an interstellar comet and not a threat, with AARO noting it falls outside its UAP mission.
- NASA officials are set to brief Rep. Anna Paulina Luna on Wednesday, while the agency says findings will be shared once the government reopens.
- Unverified images and a purported Japanese video claiming to show 3I/ATLAS have gone viral, which observers link to limited official releases during the shutdown.
- Scientists plan an International Asteroid Warning Network campaign from Nov. 27 to Jan. 27, ahead of the object’s Dec. 19 closest approach at about 167 million miles, to probe reported brightening, blue color, and non‑gravitational acceleration.