NASA will unveil new images of interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS during a live briefing on Nov. 19 at 3 p.m. EST. The photos, "collected by a number of the agency's missions," may show increased activity after the comet's Oct. 29 perihelion. Discovered on July 1 by ATLAS, 3I/ATLAS is the third confirmed interstellar comet and will pass about 170 million miles (270 million km) from Earth on Dec. 19.
NASA to Reveal New Images of Interstellar Comet 3I/ATLAS — Watch Live Nov. 19
NASA will unveil new images of interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS during a live briefing on Nov. 19 at 3 p.m. EST. The photos, "collected by a number of the agency's missions," may show increased activity after the comet's Oct. 29 perihelion. Discovered on July 1 by ATLAS, 3I/ATLAS is the third confirmed interstellar comet and will pass about 170 million miles (270 million km) from Earth on Dec. 19.
12:11 AM, 11/19/2025Science
NASA to Reveal New Images of Interstellar Comet 3I/ATLAS — Live Briefing Nov. 19
NASA will unveil new images of the interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS during a live press briefing on Wednesday, Nov. 19, at 3 p.m. EST (2000 GMT). According to a Nov. 17 statement, the photos were "collected by a number of the agency's missions" and will be shown during the event.
You can stream the briefing via Space.com (hosted by NASA) or watch directly on NASA's official channels and social media accounts.
Briefing participants
- Amit Kshatriya — NASA Associate Administrator
- Nicky Fox — Associate Administrator, Science Mission Directorate
- Shawn Domagal-Goldman — Acting Director, Astrophysics Division
- Tom Statler — NASA Lead Scientist for Solar System Small Bodies
Discovered on July 1 by the ATLAS (Asteroid Terrestrial-impact Last Alert System) survey, 3I/ATLAS is only the third confirmed interstellar comet observed in our solar system, following 1I/'Oumuamua (2017) and 2I/Borisov (2019).
The comet reached perihelion — its closest point to the Sun — on Oct. 29 at roughly 130 million miles (210 million kilometers). That solar encounter could have increased the comet's activity, producing a brighter coma or a more prominent tail; the new images may reveal such changes. NASA says the photos come from multiple spacecraft and ground-based observatories, enabling scientists to study the comet from different directions with complementary instruments.
On Oct. 3, 3I/ATLAS made its closest approach to Mars, coming within about 19 million miles (30 million kilometers). It will not come nearly that close to Earth: NASA projects a flyby distance of roughly 170 million miles (270 million kilometers) on Dec. 19.
Why this matters: Interstellar objects provide rare opportunities to study material from beyond our solar system. Multi-mission imagery can help researchers learn about the comet's composition, activity, and how interstellar visitors respond to the Sun.
Watch the live event to see the images and hear scientists discuss what they reveal about this unusual visitor.