Overview
- 3I/ATLAS passed closest to the Sun around Oct. 29–30 at roughly 1.4 astronomical units during solar conjunction, so it will not be observable from Earth again until early December.
- NASA reiterates there is no hazard to Earth, with the object staying about 1.8 astronomical units or more away and making its nearest Earth approach in mid‑December.
- An international campaign using JWST, Hubble, Keck and the VLT is tracking its activity and composition across perihelion, with ESA’s JUICE mission slated to observe it from deep space this weekend.
- Spectroscopic reports note unusual chemistry—including strong carbon dioxide, cyanide and atomic nickel vapor—plus sunward jets and slight non‑gravitational acceleration that teams are working to confirm.
- Public speculation about a possible artificial origin is being weighed against perihelion data, but NASA, SETI and most scientists report no evidence of anything other than an unusual natural comet.