3IATLAS

We already know when the interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS will be closest to Earth and so you can try to see it

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One of the great protagonists that we have in the sky right now is the comet 3I/ATLAS that has received attention both from science and from fans of everything that surrounds us beyond the atmosphere. And what makes this comet be very interesting It is precisely its origin that does not belong to our environment and also that after its passage it will never return. This makes seeing it from Earth be something unique and that no one will ever be able to repeat again. Getting closer. Right now we are on the verge of its peak moment with us: its closest approach to Earth will occur next week, and this makes many people want to have an idea of ​​how to witness its passage. The appointment will be next December 19. An impossible trajectory. To understand what we are seeing, we have to look back a couple of months. Orbital calculations placed this comet at its closest point to the Sun at the end of last October, passing slightly inside the orbit of Mars. And this was where we had the first big meeting. On October 2, the HiRISE camera aboard the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) managed to photograph to the comet from a distance of about 30 million kilometers. It is not common for us to have “eyes” on another planet watching for comets, but the geometry was perfect to capture and visualize it. And all these images have been fundamental to know exactly how and when it will reach our environment. How and when. The date to mark on the calendar is December 19, 2025. A Friday that will be historic since it will be the moment in which 3I/ATLAS makes its closest approach to Earth, being at a distance of 270 million kilometers. Something that removes any type of risk of impacting the planet. The eyes are useless. Looking up and seeing the comet will not be possible, but you will need to be minimally equipped since it does not have colored tails or anything similar. That is why you will need to have a medium or large caliber telescope that is capable of capturing a lot of light. All this accompanied by dark skies, since light pollution in cities makes its detection impossible due to its low brightness. In addition, it is important to have tools such as mobile applications that can guide us where to aim in order to know where we will see it. Although it is also important to have the NASA information about its location. The best sites. In the northern hemisphere, which is where we are, the comet will be visible before dawn. But to do this it will be necessary to also find the best places with dark skies and no light pollution. Traditionally in Spain we can have different characteristic sites such as the Teide observatory or mountain ranges that are very high like in the Pyrenees to be in optimal conditions to see it. Likewise, online monitoring through large observation centers can also be an option in the event of not having the appropriate equipment or location. Images | THAT In Xataka | It went from a supposed alien ship to definitely a comet. Now 3I/ATLAS surprises again with another possibility

A new and “extraordinary” 3I/ATLAS anomaly keeps controversy alive as the comet approaches Earth

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Avi Loeb is back at it. While NASA deploys an unprecedented fleet of cameras and telescopes to observe the third interstellar visitor in history, the Harvard physicist points out an orbital coincidence with Jupiter so precise that, in the absence of explanation, it defies chance. A little context. The solar system has a new guest object and, as it happened with its only two known predecessors‘Oumuamua and 2I/Borisov, has not arrived without controversy. The interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS, discovered in July 2025, is on track to make its closest approach to Earth. For NASA, it is a golden opportunity to study the chemistry of another solar system. For the controversial astrophysicist Avi Loeb, director of the Galileo Project, the orbital data has just revealed an “extraordinary anomaly” that, for the umpteenth timehas been associated with a possible artificial origin. A chance of 1 in 26,000. According to the latest trajectory data from NASA’s JPL, 3I/ATLAS will pass the closest point of its trajectory to Jupiter on March 16, 2026. But what’s surprising is not the approach itself, Loeb says, but the exact distance at which it will occur. If a mother ship wanted to “seed devices” on Jupiter or take advantage of its Lagrangian points to park with a minimum expenditure of fuel, it would have to arrive right at the edge of the so-called Hill Radius, which delimits the sphere of gravitational influence of the gas giant. By the date of the encounter, Jupiter’s Hill Radius will be 53.502 million kilometers. The fact that has raised Loeb’s eyebrows? The minimum approach distance of 3I/ATLAS is 53.445 million kilometers. According to the cosmologistthe probability of an interstellar rock randomly passing with this precision by the edge of Jupiter’s Hill Radius is about 1 in 26,000. Engines or degassing? NASA had already ruled out that the “non-gravitational acceleration” observed in 3I/ATLAS came from artificial engines. 3I/ATLAS It is an active comet. As such, as it approaches the Sun, the heat sublimates the ice in its body, creating jets of gas that act as natural propellants, pushing the rock and altering its orbit. However, Loeb argues that this observed acceleration during perihelion (the closest point to the Sun) was of the exact magnitude needed to correct course toward that precise intersection with Jupiter’s Hill sphere. If it were a technological spacecraft, Loeb argues, those observed “jets” might not be ice sublimating, but thrusters performing a gravity-assist maneuver. We will clear up doubts. The outcome of this story will come in the coming months. On December 19 we will have the comet’s closest approach to Earth, an ideal time for detailed spectroscopic observations. A spectroscopic measurement of the speed and composition of the jets will reveal whether they come from the sublimation of ice packs or from technological propellants. If in March 2026, after passing by Jupiter, we detect new objects orbiting the gas giant that we did not send, the history of humanity could change. If not, we will have had the unique opportunity to closely study a fragment of an alien world, which, as NASA tries to argue, is already extraordinary in its own right. Image | POT In Xataka | NASA has been accused of “kidnapping” the 3I/ATLAS photos for a month and a half: it has had no choice but to publish them

This is the 3I/ATLAS photo that NASA was accused of hijacking. Of course it doesn’t change anything

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They are the most controversial astronomical photos of the last two months. And to no one’s surprise, speculation as to why NASA had not published them was exaggerated. This is what the space agency has seen. A little context. Since the ATLAS system detected a new interstellar object crossing our neighborhood, a very specific part of the scientific community has been carefully monitoring its trajectory to detect any anomalies. Especially since cosmologist Avi Loeb suggested it could be an artificial alien object. That NASA took a month and a half to release 3I/ATLAS images taken during its approach to Mars has not helped control such speculation. But the administrative silence, caused by the US government shutdown, has come to an end. NASA is back this week with a huge amount of data under the arm. “It’s a comet.” NASA has mobilized 12 of its spacecraft to observe the visitor from outside the solar system. And the official message is forceful, almost designed to nip any exotic speculation in the bud: “it looks like a comet and behaves like a comet, and all the evidence points to it being a comet,” said Amit Kshatriya, the agency’s highest-ranking official, in a press conference. Of course, it is a different comet from those in the solar system, which suggests that it was born in an environment with a different chemistry than ours, perhaps around a star much older than the Sun, because it is unusually rich in nickel and, instead of expelling water, it expels carbon dioxide. What’s new. What makes this new observation campaign special is the geometry. When 3I/ATLAS passed its closest point to the Sun in late October, Earth was on the “wrong side,” with the Sun blocking our direct view. Taking advantage of the fact that Mars had a privileged view, NASA forced the instruments of its ships beyond their original design. The Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter captured high-resolution images from 30 million kilometers away. The MAVEN mission analyzed its ultraviolet composition and the Perseverance rover, from the Martian surface, managed to capture a faint flash of the comet. Meanwhile, the Psyche and Lucy spacecraft, traveling to distant asteroids, managed to capture the comet against the light, revealing details of its tail and coma that would be invisible from Earth. And the SOHO and STEREO solar observatories followed suit when it was too close to the Sun for other telescopes. What does Loeb say? The controversial Harvard astrophysicist and techno-signature hunter has published an immediate response showing his disappointment. For Loeb, the NASA press conference has been an exercise in bureaucracy to confirm the “expected and boring.” His main arguments for maintaining skepticism are: The striking thing about the mass: 3I/ATLAS is a million times more massive than ‘Oumuamua. Statistically, we should have seen millions of small objects before seeing one this big, unless it was intentionally “sent”, according to the cosmologist. The camouflage theory: Loeb argues that an interstellar probe that has traveled through the cold interstellar medium could have accumulated a layer of ice and dust on its surface. As it approaches the Sun, this layer would sublimate, making it look like a natural comet. The resolution of the images: The photos shown by NASA are blurry (due to the limitations of the probes), so Loeb is pinning his hopes on images taken by amateur astronomers as the comet approaches Earth. And now what. NASA has not found any technosignatures: no radio signals, no impossible maneuvers outside of gravity, nothing that indicates intelligence on this comet. However, the show is not over. On December 19, 2025, 3I/ATLAS will have its closest approach to Earth (about 270 million kilometers). It will be then when the James Webb space telescope and the large terrestrial observatories will be able to perform the definitive autopsy. Image | POT In Xataka | 3I/ATLAS shows signs of non-gravitational acceleration: something has pushed it, and we think we know what

After a month and a half of controversy, NASA will publish the 3I/ATLAS photos it took from Mars

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It’s been the hottest topic of conversation in ufology circles for the past six weeks. While 3I/ATLAS, the third known interstellar object, crossed our solar system, NASA kept receiving the same question: where are the photos of its passage through Mars? Here are the damn photos. After 47 days of silence, the US space agency has confirmed that it will make public the 3I/ATLAS images and all the data collected by the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter probe during its approach to Mars in early October. will do it through press conference on Wednesday, November 19, at 3:00 PM EST (9:00 PM PST). The event will be attended by heavyweights such as Nicky Fox (Associate Administrator of NASA’s Science Mission Directorate) and will be broadcast online on the NASA+ channel. A little context. Between October 2 and 3, the interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS passed within about 29 million kilometers of Mars. At that time, NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter and its powerful HiRISE camera had a golden opportunity: observe the object from a unique lateral angle, impossible to achieve from Earth. However, the images never appeared, and Avi Loeb soon raised his voice. The controversial Harvard cosmologist argues that there are enough anomalies in 3I/ATLAS to consider the possibility that it is an artificial alien object“possibly hostile.” Loeb accused NASA of withholding “extremely scientifically valuable” images, and managed to involve a Republican congresswoman to demand their release. The reason for the wait. It was not a kidnapping, but one of the many consequences of the US government shutdown, which kept 83% of the NASA staff suspended from employment and pay between October 1 and November 13. In fact, the position of NASA and counterparts like the European Space Agency regarding 3I/ATLAS is absolutely calm. The agencies maintain that 3I/ATLAS is a comet. Its observations with the Hubble and James Webb telescopes suggest that it is an icy body between 440 meters and 5.6 kilometers with an active coma. And his behavior, including non-gravitational acceleration As it passes through the Sun, it is a natural effect of the sublimation of ice when heated. What can we expect? The side view of the comet will be crucial to understanding the geometry of the comet’s gas and dust jets, and ruling out the exotic theory that they are artificial propellants. In any case, they will not be the last images we see of 3I/ATLAS. The European probe Juice is observing the object, but the data will take months to arrive due to the position of the spacecraft relative to the Sun. 3I/ATLAS will pass its closest point to Earth, about 270 million kilometers, on December 19, 2025. For now, the scoreboard is: Bureaucracy 1 – Science 0. In Xataka | It went from a supposed alien ship to definitely a comet. Now 3I/ATLAS surprises again with another possibility

Someone at Harvard suggested that 3I/ATLAS was an alien ship. A new test has revealed to us what it really is

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Without a doubt one of the space objects that has been causing the most sensation in recent months is 3I/ATLAS. Practically everything has been said in recent months, from the fact that it is a simple asteroid that was going to destroy our planet to the fact that it was an alien shipas noted a professor from the prestigious Harvard. But all these ideas have been left in nothing thanks to the last signal that has been interpreted from this object. What he imagined. Interstellar object 3I/ATLAS, the third such visitor ever detected, has kept the scientific community (and science fiction fans) in suspense since its discovery in July. The most “far-fetched” speculations, as experts have described them, went so far as to suggest that it could be an extraterrestrial spacecraft, especially when it temporarily disappeared behind the Sun. The sign that explains everything. On October 24, the radio telescope MeerKAT In South Africa, a powerful network of 64 antennas captured the key evidence. This was neither an encrypted message nor a technological transmission from another species, but rather an absorption radio signal caused by hydroxyl molecules. What does it mean. Hydroxyl molecules are the direct result of the ‘breaking’ of a water molecule. This is something that happens when the ice in the nucleus of a comet approaches the Sun and sublimates due to the large amount of energy it absorbs. That is, it automatically goes from solid to gas and this is what we have detected from Earth, as has explained Michael Küppers, scientist at the European Space Agency (ESA). In summary, we are talking about 3I/ATLAS containing ice inside, as happens in comets (and not in extraterrestrial spacecraft). And we are completely sure of this, since these absorption signals are like the molecular DNI, it is unique for each compound. Goodbye speculation. As we have mentioned before, the alien ship theory gained traction when the object hid behind the Sun. Some speculated that it was maneuvering or hiding from our radars. However, on November 4, 3I/ATLAS reappeared exactly where orbital calculations predicted it would be. There were no maneuvers, just physics. Furthermore, it is not the first time it has been detected. Javier Peralta, an expert in planetary atmospheres, recalls that NASA’s Swift space telescope had already observed hydroxyl in the ultraviolet spectrum. MeerKAT’s new detection is crucial because it confirms the same composition in a completely different band of the electromagnetic spectrum: radio. What does the future hold for us? 3I/ATLAS is the third known interstellar visitor, after 1I/’Oumuamua in 2017 and 2I/Borisov in 2019. Although its trajectory is too long and it has traveled too long to know which star it comes from. But the important thing is that we are already preparing for what is coming. ESA’s JUICE mission, currently en route to Jupiter, will take new radio measurements from 3I/ATLAS in February 2026. But the big bet is the mission ESA Comet Interceptorwhich will be launched around 2029 and will wait for the next large comet to approach our planet. Cover | POT In Xataka | NASA ignores the Harvard study on an alleged extraterrestrial spacecraft: “it is an interstellar comet”

A Harvard astronomer has accused NASA of hiding 3I/ATLAS images. has an explanation

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Avi Loeb, the controversial cosmologist of Harvard University, has accused NASA of withholding important data on the interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS, and is mobilizing the US Congress to demand its release. But this alleged concealment of evidence is not what it seems. Weeks without seeing the photos. In one post on your blogLoeb denounces that NASA has not made public images of the object taken with the HiRISE camera of the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter probe from Mars orbit for weeks. These images, captured between October 2 and 3, when 3I/ATLAS passed within 30 million kilometers of the red planet, are, according to Loeb, “extremely valuable” scientific data. The reason is that they would have a resolution of 30 kilometers per pixel, three times greater than the best available image of the interstellar object, taken by the Hubble Space Telescope. This “side perspective” could be important for understanding the object’s geometry and its brightness, so Loeb asked US Congresswoman Paulina Luna to demand that NASA’s acting administrator, Sean Duffy, release it. The explanation. NASA has justified the lack of images with a very earthly argument: the delays caused by the closure of the United States government since October 1. NASA is officially on “shutdown” and with 83% of its staff on unpaid leave due to the lack of agreement in Congress on the 2026 federal budgets. Only the International Space Station control room and the operators in charge of ship and satellite security, as well as a handful of critical jobs, continue to function. The rest (a large part of science, dissemination, aid processing, etc.) is on pause. Why so much interest in 3I/ATLAS. Comet 3I/ATLAS is the third interstellar object detected in our solar system. Since its discovery, it has shown behavior somewhat disconcerting which has led Avi Loeb to defend the hypothesis that it could be an artificial extraterrestrial object. The latest anomaly occurred near its perihelion (the closest point in its orbit to the Sun) on October 29, when 3I/ATLAS shone brightly in blue and experienced an acceleration which cannot be explained by the gravity of the Sun. Most likely? That the comet was degassing as it warmed up, and the sublimated ice acted as propellants. If you don’t pay attention to it you get bored. Loeb has calculated the possibility that 3I/ATLAS is a natural object: “less than one part in ten quadrillion”. The astronomer highlights the trajectory almost perfectly aligned with the plane of the planets, an unusually large mass, a very low proportion of water (only 4%) and a surprising abundance of nickel as evidence. But this is not the first time that Loeb has proposed that an interstellar object is a technological and “possibly hostile” object. In fact, it’s the second time he’s done it (the first with ‘Oumuamua), and we only know of three interstellar objects that have visited our solar system. The scientific community does not play along. Compared to Loeb’s hypotheses, the vast majority of astronomers offer much more mundane explanations. The blue glow is consistent with emissions of ionized gas from other active comets. Other physical characteristics could be explained if 3I/ATLAS were the ejection of a piece of exoplanet by a natural collision far from Earth. As for the news that “NASA” activated its defense protocol against 3I/ATLAS, it also has a simple explanation: the International Asteroid Warning Network has chosen measure the position of the interstellar comet for an observation campaign that had been planned since 2024, not with the aim of defending ourselves from. an alien attack, but to improve astrometry systems. Image | Q. Zhang and K. Dattams In Xataka | The theory that says our Universe was created in a laboratory: when science merges with science fiction

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