The world is excited to take a closer peek at 3I/ATLAS. The third-ever interstellar object to cruise through the solar system after 1I/Oumuamua (2017) and 2I/Borisov (2019) behaves mostly comet-like and defies the textbook definition of one. Harvard astrophysicist Avi Loeb has so far enlisted 15 anomalies in the exocomet that indicate it may (or may not) have a technological origin. Since its discovery on 1st of July 2025, by the Asteroid Terrestrial-impact Last Alert System (ATLAS), stargazers have been chasing the exocomet, while observatories around the world try to get substantial data.
On its closest approach to Earth at 1.79 AU (or 270 million miles), 3I/ATLAS will give Earth-based observatories a better view, including the ones in space -- Hubble, Webbs etc.
For those of you planning on catching a glimpse of the exocomet, besides the weather, the luminosity of 3I/ATLAS is a bummer. At 15.2 mag luminosity, a telescope with no less than 30 mm aperture will help. You can alternatively track the comet live below.
https://theskylive.com/c2025n1-info
Or catch one of these livestreams.
However, if you so choose to deploy a telescope, look towards the constellation Leo, near its brightest star, Regulus.
See Also: 3I/ATLAS: Watch Livestream Of The Interstellar Comet's Closest Approach To Earth On Dec 19 Here
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See Also: 3I/ATLAS: Ahead Of Closest Earth Flyby Harvard Astrophysicist Avi Loeb Flags Exocomet's Sus Anti-Tail Activity
See Also: Is 3I/ATLAS A Threat To Life On Earth? Harvard's Avi Loeb Flags This World War I Toxic Compound Found In Exocomet