NASA has unveiled a fresh image of the astral comet 3I/ ATLAS, giving astronomers and space suckers their first look yet at this rare caller from beyond our Solar System.
Captured by the Hubble Space Telescope on 30 November, the new print shows the comet still active and releasing material as it heads back towards deep space after its October swing past the Sun.
Interest in the object has been rising, especially as some astronomers and enthusiasts revisit wider questions about unusual interstellar visitors, including speculation raised.
For anyone in the UK with a telescope and an ability to defy the early mornings, a new viewing window is just around the corner.
A Rare Interstellar Visitor Moves Away from the Sun
3I/ ATLAS, occasionally described as one of the most interesting astral objects to pass through our cosmic neighbourhood, is presently travelling hundreds of millions of kilometres from Earth.
While it’s far too faint for the naked eye, amateur astronomers with a decent outfit will soon have a chance to spot it again.
The best viewing hours in mid-December for the UK and parts of Europe are:
- 5:00 a.m. – 7:00 a.m. GMT
Its closest approach to Earth on 19 December is anticipated to give the clearest openings to observe the comet as it moves across the early-morning sky.
❓Why so blurry❓
Lots of reasons…but in short, it’s not what these spacecraft were designed to do. As comet 3I/ATLAS swooped by, we jumped on the opportunity to turn our instruments its way and see what we could get. Take HiRISE as an example.
The left is what it was… pic.twitter.com/A5NuecHYWb
— NASA Solar System (@NASASolarSystem) November 20, 2025
These viewing times aren’t only important for suckers but also for experimenters hoping to gather fresh data on the comet’s structure, movement, and unusual chemical makeup.
Hubble Reveals Gas, Dust, and a Fast-Moving Comet
The new Hubble image shows 3I/ ATLAS running a delicate sluice of gas and dust released from its icy face.
Because Hubble locked onto the comet’s fast motion during the exposure, the stars in the background appear stretched, almost as though they’ve been smeared across the image.
NASA’s release coincides with fresh material provided by the European Space Agency (ESA). The JUICE spacecraft, presently on its long trip to Jupiter’s icy moons, captured its own view of the comet on 2 November, just days after 3I/ ATLAS passed closest to the Sun.
An ESA spokesperson explained: “Not only do we clearly see the glowing halo of gas surrounding the comet known as its coma, but we also see a hint of two tails.
The comet’s plasma tail stretches towards the top of the frame, and a fainter dust tail appears to reach towards the lower left.”
These two tails, one made of electrically charged gas, the other of fine solid patches, help scientists understand how the comet reacts to solar radiation and the solar wind.
Unusual Methanol Levels Detected
One of the most interesting discoveries this time comes from chemical compliances taken using the Atacama Large Millimetre/ Submillimetre Array (ALMA).
The data revealed that 3I/ ATLAS began producing quantities of methanol as it warmed up near the Sun.
Methanol was detected on:
- 28 August
- 18 September
- 22 September
- 1 October
Hydrogen cyanide, another key cometary chemical, was picked up on:
- 12 September
- 15 September
According to Harvard astrophysicist Avi Loeb, the comet shows one of the loftiest methanol-to-hydrogen cyanide rates ever recorded, second only to comet C/ 2016 R2.
Why the Methanol Ratio Matters?
In planetary wisdom, methanol plays a major part in the conformation of further complex organic molecules.
These composites can act as precursors to the chemistry that shapes arising planetary systems, and in some cases, the chemistry that supports life.
A high methanol rate suggests that 3I/ ATLAS may have formed in an extremely cold, carbon-rich region around another star.
This environment appears very different from the conditions in which most comets in our own Solar System developed.
This gives astronomers a rare opportunity to study the chemical fingerprint of another star’s ancient protoplanetary disc, without ever leaving Earth.
By analysing what 3I/ ATLAS releases as it warms, scientists can perform what’s basically a remote geological and chemical examination of material from an entirely different part of the world.
The perceptivity gained from this astral comet could shape how experimenters understand the birth and elaboration of planetary systems, both then and around distant stars.
