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Near-Earth interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS will remain inaccessible to binoculars and amateur telescopes, according to Sergei Yazev, a senior researcher at the Institute of Solar-Terrestrial Physics SB RAS, according to TASS.
According to the scientist, the distance between the comet and Earth was 300 million km on November 23 and continues to decrease. The closest approach is expected on December 19, when the distance will decrease to 269 million km. After that, the celestial bodies will begin to move away from each other.
"There's no point in looking at the sky either now or on December 19th. The comet is too far away to be observed with amateur telescopes or binoculars," Yazev explained. He added that the object would only be visible through powerful telescopes at scientific observatories.
The scientist emphasized that the comet is completely safe for Earth.
3I/ATLAS is the third interstellar object discovered by astronomers. The previous discoveries were the asteroid 'Oumuamua in the fall of 2017 and comet 2I/Borisov, discovered by Russian astronomer Gennady Borisov in August 2019.