![\"Hubble](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/https:\/\/prod.static9.net.au\/fs\/d859c347-cec3-424c-9411-e24cc5e7ed4e.jpeg\")
Hubble captured this image of the interstellar comet 3I\/ATLAS on July 21, 2025, when the comet was 277 million miles from Earth. (NASA, ESA, D. Jewitt (UCLA); J. DePasquale (STScI))<\/p>\nAn incredibly rare astronomical phenomenon is taking place in our sky right now, you just can’t see it\ufeff – yet.<\/p>\n
The rare interstellar \ufeffComet 3I\/ATLAS is currently passing by Earth and though its proximity to the sun has rendered it invisible for the moment, that will change next month.<\/p>\n
But, even then, only a select number of Australians with the right equipment will be able to see the comet in all its glory.<\/p>\n
Hubble captured this image of the interstellar comet 3I\/ATLAS on July 21, 2025, when the comet was 277 million miles from Earth. (NASA, ESA, D. Jewitt (UCLA); J. DePasquale (STScI))<\/p>\n
Here’s \ufeffeverything to know about our interstellar visitor, including how and when to see it from Australia.<\/p>\n
Comet 3I\/ATLAS is something special, as it’s just the third known object that has entered our solar system from somewhere else entirely.<\/p>\n
A rare interstellar comet, it was first spotted<\/a> by \ufeffa team of astronomers from Rio Hurtado, Chile back on July 1.<\/p>\n NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope snapped an image of the comet on July 21, when it was still 445million kilometres from Earth, sparking excitement in astronomical communities.<\/p>\n Now it’s passing by Earth as it rockets across our solar system and, based on current trajectory predictions, back into space.\ufeff<\/p>\n What does the name 3I\/ATLAS mean?<\/p>\n The name \ufeff3I\/ATLAS may sound unusual, but it follows a common naming convention for comets.<\/p>\n Comets are typically named for the person or people who discover them.<\/p>\n In this case, it received the name Atlas from the \ufeffNASA-funded ATLAS (Asteroid Terrestrial-impact Last Alert System) survey team that first reported it.<\/p>\n As for the 3I in its name, that’s a reference to the fact it is the third (3) \ufeffknown interstellar (I) object to pass through our solar system.<\/p>\n How big is Comet 3I\/ATLAS?<\/p>\n Technically, we don’t know.<\/p>\n NASA has been observing the comet as it passes through the Milky Way, using the Hubble Space Telescope\ufeff to record as much data as possible.<\/p>\n Current estimates place its diameter at anywhere between 440 metres and 5.6 kilometres.<\/p>\n \ufeffCloser observation would be required to get a more precise estimate, but that’s easier said than done for a comet that was travelling at 221,000km\/s when it was discovered.<\/p>\n And it’s only gotten faster since.\ufeff<\/p>\n Will Comet 3I\/ATLAS hit Earth?<\/p>\n \ufeffThough the comet will travel between Earth and Mars’ orbits as it passes the sun, it poses no threat to our planet.<\/p>\n Even at its closest, it will still be about 1.6 astronomical units or 240 million kilometres from Earth.<\/p>\n![\"This](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/https:\/\/prod.static9.net.au\/fs\/d7a66bee-f48c-4085-b062-09561597799e.gif\")
This animation shows the observations of comet 3I\/ATLAS when it was discovered on July 1, 2025. (ATLAS\/University of Hawaii\/NASA)<\/p>\n
![\"\"\/](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/https:\/\/prod.static9.net.au\/fs\/726ea032-e6d9-42d2-9469-ae7ab08fd07f.jpeg\")
<\/a><\/p>\n![\"This](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/https:\/\/prod.static9.net.au\/fs\/ce4b7d42-b09a-407b-8e7a-ac65a834d33c.jpeg\")
This image shows the observation of comet 3I\/ATLAS when it was discovered on July 1, 2025. (ATLAS\/University of Hawaii\/NASA)<\/p>\n