Astronomy enthusiasts around the world will soon get a rare chance to watch the interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS live. The Manhattan-sized comet, only the third known interstellar object to enter our solar system, has fascinated scientists and sky-watchers since its discovery four months ago.
Now, as it moves farther from the Sun, viewers can catch real-time telescopic footage of this mysterious visitor. The livestream will be hosted by The Virtual Telescope Project, according to The New York Post.
Comet 3I/ATLAS has drawn intense curiosity and speculation. Its unusual path, passing close to Jupiter, Venus, and Mars during its recent perihelion, has sparked discussions about its origin and nature. Some social media conversations even suggested it could be an extraterrestrial spacecraft, a theory shared by public figures like Elon Musk in a conversation with Joe Rogan. Harvard astrophysicist Avi Loeb, known for exploring non-traditional ideas about interstellar objects, stressed to The Post that scientific data should be shared openly rather than delayed. “The truth about 3I/ATLAS will only emerge through transparent data-sharing, not speculation,” he said.
Excitingly, NASA is expected to release high-resolution images of 3I/ATLAS as early as next week. Captured between October 1 and 7 by the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter’s HiRISE camera, these images are anticipated to provide the clearest look yet at the comet and could help resolve several ongoing debates about its structure and origin. The release was delayed due to the recent government shutdown, which ended last week.
For those eager to watch the comet live, The Virtual Telescope Project will stream the event tonight at 11:15 pm ET on its official YouTube channel. The comet will appear above the eastern horizon, moving through the constellation Virgo. Its faint brightness, around magnitude +10.9, makes it invisible to the naked eye, so high-powered telescopes are essential.
A series of telescopes in Manciano, Italy, have been specially aligned for this global broadcast, allowing sky-watchers from around the world to experience this interstellar visitor in real time.
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Shivam Verma is a journalist with over three years of experience in digital newsrooms. He currently works at NewsX, having previously worked for Firstpost and DNA India. A postgraduate diploma holder in Integrated Journalism from the Asian College of Journalism, Chennai, Shivam focuses on international affairs, diplomacy, defence, and politics. Beyond the newsroom, he is passionate about football—both playing and watching—and enjoys travelling to explore new places and cuisines.
