Overview
- Tracking teams report 3I/ATLAS slipped inside 300 million kilometers of Earth on Nov. 23 and is on course for a safe closest approach of about 269 million kilometers (170 million miles) on Dec. 19.
- NASA released new imagery from Mars-based assets, with MRO resolving the coma from 30 million kilometers, MAVEN detecting hydrogen and related ultraviolet signatures, and Perseverance recording a faint view from the surface.
- Agency officials reaffirm the object’s natural, cometary behavior and no threat to Earth, even as measured non‑gravitational acceleration is investigated as likely outgassing.
- An arXiv preprint models a March 16, 2026 pass near Jupiter’s Hill radius that could significantly alter the comet’s outbound trajectory, identifying March 9–22 as a favorable observation window with Juno well placed.
- Independent observers, including Indian teams at Mount Abu and astrophotographers, report comet‑like appearance and activity, while fringe claims of deployed ‘satellites’ around Jupiter remain unverified and disputed by mainstream scientists.