According to a report on Space.com, the comet 3I/ATLAS, announced to pass close to Earth, approached to about 270 million kilometers from our planet at 11:30 AM Turkish time on December 19.
Having reached its closest point to Earth, the comet 3I/ATLAS continued on its trajectory. The International Space Station (ISS) shared images of the comet on the social media account of the US-based X company, noting, "Interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS made its closest approach to Earth on December 19."
3I/ATLAS was discovered on July 1 by the ATLAS Telescope in Chile. The comet is considered the third known celestial object believed to originate from outside the Solar System.
