Tune in on Nov. 16 at 11:15 p.m. ET (0415 GMT Nov. 17) for a free livestream from the Virtual Telescope Project showing interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS as it speeds away from the Sun. Discovered July 1, 3I/ATLAS is the third confirmed interstellar visitor and passed perihelion on Oct. 30 before recently emerging from behind the Sun. Gianluca Masi's Nov. 11 image revealed a bright coma and a growing ion tail; at magnitude +10.9 the comet is visible through small backyard telescopes as it moves through Virgo.
Watch Interstellar Comet 3I/ATLAS Race from the Sun — Free Virtual Telescope Livestream Nov. 16
Tune in on Nov. 16 at 11:15 p.m. ET (0415 GMT Nov. 17) for a free livestream from the Virtual Telescope Project showing interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS as it speeds away from the Sun. Discovered July 1, 3I/ATLAS is the third confirmed interstellar visitor and passed perihelion on Oct. 30 before recently emerging from behind the Sun. Gianluca Masi's Nov. 11 image revealed a bright coma and a growing ion tail; at magnitude +10.9 the comet is visible through small backyard telescopes as it moves through Virgo.
12:35 AM, 11/17/2025Science
Live Telescope Views of Interstellar Comet 3I/ATLAS — Nov. 16
Tune in on Nov. 16 to watch detailed telescopic views of interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS as it speeds away from the Sun on an escape trajectory from our solar system. The Virtual Telescope Project will stream live feeds from its robotic telescopes in Manciano, Italy.
Livestream time: 11:15 p.m. ET on Nov. 16 (0415 GMT on Nov. 17). The broadcast will show real-time images and commentary as the comet continues outbound.
Discovered on July 1, 3I/ATLAS was quickly confirmed as the third known interstellar object after orbital analysis showed it is not bound to our Sun. The comet made perihelion — its closest approach to the Sun — on Oct. 30 and has only recently emerged from behind the Sun.
Virtual Telescope Project founder Gianluca Masi captured a striking image of 3I/ATLAS on Nov. 11 that revealed a bright central coma and a lengthening, smoke-like ion tail being pushed outward by the solar wind. In mid-to-late November the comet rises above the eastern horizon shortly before dawn and is moving through the stars of the constellation Virgo.
With an estimated magnitude of +10.9, 3I/ATLAS is too faint to see with the naked eye. However, a small backyard telescope should resolve the comet's bright central coma as a fuzzy patch against the sharper points of background stars. The livestream provides an accessible, real-time way to follow this rare interstellar visitor as it departs our solar system.
Editor’s note: If you’d like to share your astrophotography with Space.com readers, send your photos, comments, name and location to spacephotos@space.com.