Hey everyone! Sorry about the AI voiceover, we’re still a small team from Ukraine, and this helps make our videos easier and more comfortable for you to listen to. But down the road, we’re planning to hire a native English speaker.
So, with December 19 coming up as 3I/ATLAS’s key observing moment, why not look back at what scientists learned about it around perihelion in October and why additional observations from Earth still matter.
One quick question for you: if you have a telescope, are you planning to observe the comet on the 19th? It’d be awesome to chat with you in the comments about this amazing interstellar visitor!
It's an interesting interstellar comet, and there is no "too strange" in science. There is " huh, that's interesting", that's how a lot of science advances.
I wouldn't feed the conspiracy people
Totally agree. But the video is mainly about separating real anomalies from sensational claims, not feeding conspiracy stuff. Besides conspiracy theorists, loud sensational titles also get a strong reaction from ordinary people, who simply don’t have much background knowledge about space or how it works. That’s why our goal is to educate those people. As for conspiracy folks - no matter what you prove or how many arguments you bring up, you won’t convince them of anything. They’re locked into their own worldview.
it will still be further away from Earth than the sun on the 19th. There is nothing to observe that is larger than a point of light. No details, nothing. A point of light.
Thanks for the reply. I meant more generally whether anyone plans to image it at least “for themselves.” It’s still an interstellar object! I’d love to capture an event like that even just for my personal archive.
I'm not sure why there is so much focus on December 19. The comet will be only about ten percent closer to Earth on that date than it was on November 17, and only marginally closer than on any date during the entire month of December. The arrival of December 19 is going to have a negligible impact on the comet's visibility; in fact it is already fading as it moves away from the sun.
Below is a table of distances from Earth to 3I/ATLAS at ten day intervals from October through January.
2025
Oct 1 ~2.51 Oct 11 ~2.46 Oct 21 ~2.34 Oct 31 ~2.20 Nov 10 ~2.04 Nov 20 ~1.89 Nov 30 ~1.81 Dec 10 ~1.80 Dec 20 ~1.80 Dec 30 ~1.83 2026
Jan 9 ~1.90 Jan 19 ~2.00 Jan 29 ~2.12 Feb 1 ~2.16
Yes, totally fair point, and I actually say the same thing in the video: Dec 19 is not a “visibility miracle,” it’s mainly a convenient closest-approach observing window.