NASA released close-up images on Wednesday of the rare interstellar comet that’s making a single pass through the solar system.One of the images shows the comet, also known as 3I/ATLAS, as it moves through space about 190 million miles from Earth. It was taken from Manciano, Italy.This photo provided by Gianluca Masi shows the interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS as it streaks through space, 190 million miles from Earth, on Wednesday, Nov. 19, 2025. The image was taken from Manciano, Italy. / Credit: Gianluca Masi / APThe comet was first discovered in July and has been photographed several times. In early August, images released showed the comet from about 277 million miles away. A month ago, images taken by two Mars orbiters showed a bright, fuzzy white dot of the comet about 18,641,135 miles away from Mars.The interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS, circled in the center, as seen by the L’LORRI panchromatic, or black-and-white, imager on NASA’s Lucy spacecraft. This image was made by stacking a series of images taken on Sept. 16, 2025, as the comet was zooming toward Mars. / Credit: NASA/Goddard/SwRI/JHU-APL3I/ATLAS is only the third ever interstellar comet confirmed to enter our solar system.AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementThe comet is visible from Earth in the predawn sky by using binoculars or a telescope.”Everyone that is in control of a telescope wants to look at it because it’s a fascinating and rare opportunity,” NASA’s acting astrophysics director, Shawn Domagal-Goldman, told The Associated Press.This movie shows PUNCH’s observations of comet 3I/ATLAS from Sept. 28 to Oct. 10, 2025, when the comet was between 231 million to 235 million miles from Earth. / Credit: NASA/Southwest Research InstituteThe comet will make its closest approach to Earth on Friday, Dec. 19, coming within about 170 million miles, which is nearly twice the Earth-Sun distance. NASA spacecraft will keep tracking it as it moves through the solar system, crossing Jupiter’s orbit in spring 2026.ESA’s Juice spacecraft, bound for Jupiter, has been training its cameras and scientific instruments on the comet all month, particularly after it made its closest pass to the sun. But scientists won’t get any of these observa …
