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Interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS makes its closest approach to Earth tonight: Here's what you need to know

By Daisy Dobrijevic last updated

The interstellar comet will pass safely by Earth, giving astronomers their best chance to study it up close.

Comets
graphic showing comet 3I/ATLAS on a laptop screen against a background of stars

Watch interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS make its closest approach to Earth in free livestream tonight

By Daisy Dobrijevic last updated

The livestream will begin at 11 p.m. EST Dec. 18 (0400 GMT on Dec. 19), weather permitting.

Comets
A white light of the comet 3I/ATLAS is surrounded by a blue glow against a black background

Latest Comet 3I/ATLAS news: Closest approach to Earth this week

By Tariq Malik, Daisy Dobrijevic, Anthony Wood last updated

Wednesday, Dec. 17, 2025: Your daily feed for the holiday flyby of interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS by Earth.

Comets
This view of a region called Syrtis Major is from the 100,000th image captured by NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter using its HiRISE camera. The image was snapped on Oct. 7, 2025. Over nearly 20 years, HiRISE has helped scientists understand how the Red Planet’s surface is constantly changing.

Camera on NASA Mars probe snaps its 100,000th photo of the Red Planet

By Mike Wall published

The HiRISE camera on NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter just notched a big milestone, snapping its 100,000th photo of the Red Planet.

Mars
Artist's concept of the two Gravity Recovery and Interior Laboratory (GRAIL) spacecraft orbiting the moon. NASA launched the twin probes in September 2011 to study the moon's gravitational field in unprecedented detail.

On this day in space! Dec. 17, 2012: NASA's 2 GRAIL orbiters slam into the moon

By Hanneke Weitering, Elizabeth Howell last updated

On Dec. 17, 2012, NASA's GRAIL mission crashed into the moon.

The moon
Two photos with the one on the left of a man wearing a green long-sleeved shirt and the image on the right a pixelated picture of 3I/ATLAS as a ball of yellow light with green and blue light emanating from it outwards.

Interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS wasn't supposed to be there — meet the astronomer who discovered it

By Kenna Hughes-Castleberry published

Dr. Larry Denneau of the University of Hawaii is nothing like your typical astronomer.

Comets

What is the moon phase today? Lunar phases 2025

By Tariq Malik, Daisy Dobrijevic last updated

Reference See what moon phase it is tonight and find out when you can see the rest of the moon phases for 2025.

Reference
A wildfire is seen in a forested mountainside, with orange flames among green pine trees and smoke drifting to the top right of the image

Wildfire smoke lofted miles high could have an unexpected effect on Earth's climate

By Stefanie Waldek published

New measurements demonstrate that smoke particles in the upper atmosphere are twice the size of lower-altitude ones.

Earth
A grayscale image shows a close up of the sun and shows a solar wind changing direction, curving to the left of the image

NASA's Parker Solar Probe captures solar wind doing a 'U-turn'

By Sharmila Kuthunur published

NASA's Parker Solar Probe captured solar material looping back to the sun, revealing how it recycles magnetic energy and shapes future solar storms.

The Sun
A bright star twinkles in a deep blue night sky

Could the Star of Bethlehem have actually been a comet?

By Keith Cooper published

The direction, distance and motion of the comet through the sky during its closest approach could have made it seem like it was hovering over Bethlehem when Jesus was said to have been born.

Comets
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