According to the orbital calculations from NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) Horizons system, comet 3I/ATLAS will be closest to Earth at 1 a.m. EST (0600 GMT) on Dec. 19. At that time, the comet will be about 1.8 astronomical units away — roughly 168 million miles (270 million kilometers — or nearly twice the average distance between Earth and the sun.
Discovered on July 1, by NASA-funded ATLAS telescopes in Chile, 3I/ATLAS is only the third known interstellar object ever detected passing through our solar system, following 'Oumuamua in 2017 and 2I/Borisov in 2019.
While comet 3I/ATLAS will remain far too distant and faint to become a naked-eye spectacle as it passes Earth, its flyby is scientifically valuable because interstellar objects are so rare. Studying 3I/ATLAS near its closest approach provides astronomers with their best opportunity to examine material formed around another star, offering a fleeting glimpse into planetary systems beyond our own.
Skywatchers can also follow along with the flyby live online Dec.18-19 on Space.com courtesy of the Virtual Telescope Project. The livestream will begin at 11 p.m. EST on Dec. 18 (0400 GMT on Dec. 19), offering viewers a chance to see the interstellar visitor as it makes its closest approach to Earth, weather permitting.
Source: www.space.com
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