![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
- Loeb claims high‑resolution Mars‑orbiter images of 3I/ATLAS are not being shared during the US government shutdown and argues the data are time‑sensitive.
- Daily Star reports astronomers have tracked the most stretched, high‑eccentricity trajectory yet, reinforcing that the object originated beyond the solar system.
- NASA has detected a non‑gravitational acceleration, which the agency says could be explained by intense cometary outgassing.
- Observers reported a blue tint near perihelion, and Loeb suggests an artificial‑engine hypothesis while noting it could also reflect ionised carbon monoxide from a natural comet.
- 3I/ATLAS is forecast to make its closest Earth pass on December 19 at roughly 167 million miles, with observers already reporting it visible in small telescopes.