Government2025

3I/ATLAS makes its closest approach to Earth

When: 19 Dec 2025
Sources: 2 public sources

Hubble image of 3I/ATLAS taken Nov. 30, 2025, three weeks before its closest approach to Earth NASA, ESA, STScI, D. Jewitt (UCLA), M.-T. Hui, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS came no closer to Earth than about 270 million km (1.8 AU), on Dec. 19, 2025, per NASA, posing no danger. Astrophysicist Avi Loeb kept pointing to anomalies, while NASA treated it as a natural comet.

Sources

OfficialComet 3I/ATLAS Facts and FAQs (opens in a new tab)NASA Science
Press3I/ATLAS: The cosmic tourist who didn't ask for a visa (opens in a new tab)Gulf News / 2025-12-18

How sources are chosen and tiered

Where it fits

Earlier in GovernmentFY2026 NDAA adds UAP intercept briefings and other AARO changes18 Dec 2025 Later in GovernmentPentagon inspector general warns of gaps in base drone defenses20 Jan 2026

See it on the timeline More in Government