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Hubble and ESA’s JUICE Return New Views of Interstellar Comet 3I/ATLAS Ahead of Dec. 19 Earth Pass

Officials describe the observed activity as consistent with a natural comet, with additional JUICE instrument data expected in February.

During November 2025, The European Space Agency's Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer (Juice) used five of its science instruments to observe 3I/ATLAS. Though the data from the science instruments won’t arrive on Earth until February 2026, the mission team downloaded this quarter of a single NavCam image to see what was in store.
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Overview

  • Hubble captured a fresh image on Nov. 30 when 3I/ATLAS was about 178 million miles from Earth, showing the moving comet against streaked background stars.
  • ESA’s JUICE spacecraft recorded a Nov. 2 navigation-camera image revealing a bright coma and hints of two distinct tails, with the closest observation on Nov. 4 at roughly 41 million miles.
  • JUICE science data from the November observing window are scheduled for downlink on Feb. 18 and 20, 2026, after the spacecraft clears current communications constraints.
  • NASA says the object is not a threat and will pass at about 170 million miles on Dec. 19, noting it is not visible to the naked eye but can be tracked with small telescopes.
  • While Harvard’s Avi Loeb has reported a roughly 16.16‑hour periodic brightening and raised anomaly claims, many experts attribute the behavior to normal cometary jetting and agencies continue to classify 3I/ATLAS as a natural active comet.