New 3I/ATLAS images from NASA and the European Space Agency suggest the interstellar comet is active as it approaches Earth in December.

NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope caught a glimpse of 3I/ATLAS – again.

The interstellar comet, which is hurtling through space on a path that will soon see it whizzing by Earth in December, recently found itself in the sights of Hubble. The iconic observatory, launched into orbit in 1990, first spotted 3I/ATLAS in July shortly after the object was spotted in Earth’s solar system after coming from elsewhere in the Milky Way galaxy.

For months, 3I/ATLAS has attracted plenty of attention – and become the source of bizarre alien spaceship conspiracies – as it visits our cosmic neighborhood on a journey that will one day take it beyond our sights forever.

Here’s a look at Hubble’s latest image of 3I/ATLAS, as well as what to know about a European orbiter’s recent observations of the interstellar comet.

What is 3I/ATLAS interstellar comet?

An object known as 3I/ATLAS made news in July 2025 when it was confirmed to be the third-ever object discovered originating outside Earth’s solar system. When it was spotted, 3I/ATLAS was whizzing at about 137,000 miles per hour, according to NASA.

Observations of 3I/ATLAS’ speed and trajectory confirmed to astronomers that it formed in another star system and was ejected into interstellar space – the region between the stars, according to NASA. For potentially billions of years, the comet has drifted on a journey from the general direction of the constellation Sagittarius in the center of the Milky Way that recently brought it into our solar system.

Unlike comets bound to the sun’s gravity, 3I/ATLAS is traveling on a hyperbolic orbit that will eventually carry it out of the solar system and back into interstellar space.

NASA’s Hubble gets 2nd look at 3I/ATLAS

The Hubble Space Telescope is just one of many NASA’s instruments – including the James Webb Space Telescope – that has had its sights trained on 3I/ATLAS in the few months that the comet has been flying through our solar system.

Hubble’s latest sighting of the interstellar object came Nov. 30, NASA said in a December blog post.

At the time, 3I/ATLAS was about 178 million miles from Earth. Because Hubble was tracking the comet as it moved across the sky, stars in the background of the image appear as streaks of light, NASA said.

Hubble’s 1st observations of 3I/ATLAS helped determine size

Hubble first caught a glimpse of 3I/ATLAS in July shortly after the interstellar interloper was first discovered.

While astronomers don’t yet know exactly how big 3I/ATLAS could be, estimates range from a few hundred feet to a few miles across, according to the European Space Agency. What’s more, Hubble’s initial data helped astronomers estimate the size of the comet’s solid, icy nucleus as anywhere from about 1,400 feet to 3.5 miles wide.

ESA Jupiter orbiter also glimpses comet

A European Space Agency orbiter bound for Jupiter also recently spotted 3I/ATLAS.

The ESA’s Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer (Juice) observed the comet between Nov. 2 and Nov. 25 when 3I/ATLAS was in a “very active state” following its closest approach to the sun Oct. 30, according to the agency. Because the spacecraft is far from Earth on the other side of the sun, scientists don’t expect to receive its observations until February, according to the ESA.

But the mission team was able to download a quarter of a single image from JUICE’s navigation camera as the spacecraft travels to Jupiter by 2031. The image was taken Nov. 2, two days before JUICE’s closest approach to the comet Nov. 4 at a distance of about 41million miles.

Signs of activity area clear in the image, including the comet’s surrounding glowing halo of gas, known as its coma, and two distinct tails. One tail is composed of electrically charged gas stretching to the top of the frame, while the other, made of dust particles, stretches to the lower left of the image, the ESA said.

NASA releases photos of 3I/ATLAS comet

NASA on Nov. 19 released a trove of never-before-seen images of 3I/ATLAS unveiling new characteristics of the object.

A look at all of the photos NASA has released of 3I/ATLAS since its July discovery, including detailed explanations of each, are available below.

Where is 3I/ATLAS now? Will it be visible from Earth?

The comet 3I/ATLAS, which is not a threat to Earth, is projected to pass within about 170 million miles of our planet on Dec. 19 – or about twice the distance between Earth and the sun.

Though 3I/ATLAS is not visible to the naked eye, those with even a small telescope can observe the comet in the pre-dawn sky until spring 2026, according to NASA. The agency’s “Eyes on the Solar System” online simulation shows the location and path of 3I/ATLAS as it moves through our solar system.

Is 3I/ATLAS an alien spaceship? NASA leaders reject conspiracy theory

The strange outsider’s jaunt through Earth’s cosmic neighborhood has sparked plenty of outlandish conspiracy theories regarding its nature.

One particularly infamous idea – put forth by a Harvard astrophysicist named Avi Loeb – is that 3I/ATLAS could be an alien spaceship. Though Loeb has conceded on publishing platform Medium that the object is “most likely a comet of natural origin,” he has not ruled out the possibility that it could be extraterrestrial technology.

NASA officials, though, have attempted to put that notion to rest.

In a social media exchange with reality TV star Kim Kardashian in October, NASA Acting Administrator Sean Duffy affirmed: “No aliens. No threat to life here on Earth.”

Nicola Fox, associate administrator of NASA’s Science Mission Directorate, also rejected the alien conspiracy theory during the agency’s November news conference, saying “we certainly haven’t seen any technosignatures or anything from it that would lead us to believe it was anything other than a comet.”

Eric Lagatta is the Space Connect reporter for the USA TODAY Network. Reach him at elagatta@gannett.com