Tech Desk 
Dec 20, 2025
The interstellar comet known as 3I/ATLAS has safely passed Earth without incident, effectively putting an end to weeks of speculation about the mysterious body that was discovered earlier in the year.
Scientists report that the passage of 3I/ATLAS will occur at its closest point to Earth on Friday, at a distance of approximately 170 million miles. There are no threats in this passage, thus dismissing any allegations that the detection might actually be an alien spacecraft.
The comet is currently entering our solar system and is expected to have a close flyby encounter with planet Jupiter on March 16, 2026, when it will pass Jupiter at a distance of about 33 million miles.
NASA declares an object potentially hazardous only when it approaches within 4.6 million miles of an orbiting planet, which is not the case with comet 3I/ATLAS, as it poses no threat to Jupiter.
Following its Jupiter encounter, the comet is expected to pass close to Neptune in 2028 and Pluto in April 2029, after which it will leave the solar system in the mid-2030s.
Comet 3I/ATLAS
3I/ATLAS was first detected back in July 2025 via the ATLAS telescope, which is funded by NASA. Since then, the object has garnered much attention from the scientific community because of its peculiar behaviour and confirmed status as an interstellar object.
This particular object marks only the third interstellar visitor that has been recorded so far. This happened after the first object, 1I ‘Oumuamua, was spotted back in 2017 and the second object,
Moreover, NASA has reported communication issues with its Mars Atmosphere and Volatile Evolution (MAVEN) spacecraft. The probe went offline on December 4, 2025, marking the first loss of contact since it began orbiting Mars in 2014. NASA has not linked the issue to 3I/ATLAS and continues efforts to restore communication.
