Scientific Discoveries News 4 December 2025 - 4 January 2026

NEW YORK, January 2, 2026, 12:50 ET Astronomers have measured water streaming from interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS after it passed closest to the Sun, using ultraviolet observations that track hydrogen released as water breaks apart, a report published on Friday said. Phys The finding matters because 3I/ATLAS is only the third confirmed object known to have entered the solar system from interstellar space. Scientists treat such visitors as time-limited samples of material formed around another star, and this one is still being followed as it recedes. NASA has said the comet is on a hyperbolic trajectory — a one-time flyby rather

NEW YORK, December 29, 2025, 06:44 ET NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope has carried out a new observation of interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS, with the Space Telescope Science Institute’s status report showing a Dec. 27 visit now archived. (STScI visit status report) stsci.edu The update comes as 3I/ATLAS fades rapidly from view after swinging past Earth this month, while continuing on an outbound path that will next take it past Jupiter in March, NASA officials said in an Associated Press report. (AP) AP News That timing matters because 3I/ATLAS is only the third confirmed interstellar visitor ever spotted in the solar system, according to

December 15, 2025 — A rare visitor from beyond our solar system is making its final, headline-worthy sweep through the inner neighborhood — and the countdown to its closest pass by Earth is nearly over. Interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS (also designated C/2025 N1 (ATLAS)) will reach its closest approach to Earth on Friday, December 19, 2025, staying a safe ~1.8 astronomical units away — about 270 million kilometers (167–170 million miles), roughly twice the average Earth–Sun distance. It poses no threat to Earth, but the timing is ideal for professional observatories — and for skilled backyard stargazers with telescopes — to squeeze out precious data before the comet continues outward on

On December 13, 2025, Comet 3I/ATLAS—the third confirmed interstellar object ever found crossing our solar system—is back in the headlines as astronomers release fresh observations that deepen the mystery (and the science) of this rare cosmic flyby. It’s not just “another comet”: 3I/ATLAS is an outsider from beyond the Sun’s gravitational family, racing through on a hyperbolic path that proves it wasn’t born here. NASA Science+1 Today’s developments add two eye-catching chapters to the story: All this arrives just days before the comet’s closest approach to Earth on December 19, 2025—a safe but scientifically valuable alignment that researchers are treating

As of December 8, 2025, interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS (also known as C/2025 N1 (ATLAS)) has gone from an obscure discovery to a global headline-maker. New observations are revealing cryovolcano‑like eruptions, an atmosphere rich in prebiotic molecules, and spectacular images from NASA and ESA ahead of its December 19 close approach to Earth— all while fringe claims about aliens and “electromagnetic sickness” swirl online. Here’s a clear, evidence-based look at what we actually know right now about 3I/ATLAS, and why this visitor from another star system matters. What is Comet 3I/ATLAS? 3I/ATLAS is the third confirmed interstellar object ever seen in our Solar System, after 1I/ʻOumuamua (2017) and 2I/Borisov (2019).Wikipedia+1 Key facts: Crucially, the comet will not

Published December 7, 2025 Interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS – only the third confirmed visitor ever seen passing through our Solar System from another star – is putting on its biggest show yet this December. As it brightens again after looping behind the Sun, astronomers are releasing a flood of new results: Hubble and ESA’s Juice spacecraft have snapped fresh images, radio telescopes have detected the comet’s first “radio signal,” and new chemistry measurements reveal surprisingly large amounts of methanol and hydrogen cyanide, molecules tied to both the origins and the destruction of life. Live Science+3Live Science+3IFLScience+3 At the same time, speculative claims that 3I/ATLAS might be an

Interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS – also known as C/2025 N1 (ATLAS) – has just become the most closely watched visitor in the night sky. On 4 December 2025, a wave of new observations and images from NASA and ESA revealed that this third-known interstellar object is far more active and scientifically intriguing than astronomers first expected. NASA Science+2European Space Agency+2 Fresh Hubble photos, a surprise “teaser” image from ESA’s Juice spacecraft and new reports of vigorous activity around the comet are converging just as 3I/ATLAS heads toward its closest approach to Earth later this month, offering scientists and skilled amateur astronomers