space_policy

NASA’s ATLAS telescope identified the interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS, currently about 420 million miles from Earth, with closest approach to the Sun on October 30, 2025, and it will pass safely between Mars and Earth as the third confirmed interstellar visitor after 1I/ʻOumuamua and 2I/Borisov. July marks Aphelion Day, when Earth is about 94.5 million miles from the Sun, but axial tilt, not distance, drives seasonal heat, with northern summers lengthened as Earth moves slower in its orbit at aphelion. Earth’s rotation is speeding up, shortening days by milliseconds, with scientists warning that a leap second may be subtracted by 2029,