Comet 3I/ATLAS Farewell: Watch Final Live Stream On January 22 As Interstellar Guest Exits Forever

The cosmic wanderer that has fascinated the world since it was found last summer is finally getting ready to say goodbye for good. This week, the interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS is at its most visible, marking the end of its brief but historic stay in our Solar System.

It has traveled from the farthest reaches of the Milky Way. A group of dedicated astronomers is giving people one last chance to see this 'alien' visitor up close before it disappears into space forever.

A Rare Alignment For 3I/ATLAS

Opposition will happen this Thursday, January 22, 2026, which is a very important time for the comet's journey out. This astronomical event happens when a planet, asteroid, or, in this rare case, an interstellar comet is directly opposite the Sun from where we are on Earth. It is basically the time when the object is fully 'lit up' and can be seen best from the ground.

Since the comet was first seen on July 1, 2025, the Virtual Telescope Project 2.0 has been the main place to watch it move. They have confirmed that their last public live stream will happen at the same time as this opposition. At 23:00 UTC (11:00 PM GMT), people all over the world will be able to see 3I/ATLAS through powerful robotic telescopes.

Led by astrophysicist and Virtual Telescope Project founder Gianluca Masi, the stream will utilize a 14-inch Schmidt-Cassegrain robotic telescope located in Manciano, Italy. Given that the comet is currently around magnitude 13—far too faint for the naked eye or standard binoculars—this digital broadcast represents the only realistic way for the general public to see the visitor before it retreats.

The Scientific Legacy Of 3I/ATLAS

What makes 3I/ATLAS so extraordinary isn't just its appearance, but its pedigree. Unlike the vast majority of comets that originate from our own Oort Cloud, this object is a true 'outsider.' It is only the third interstellar object ever confirmed by scientists, following the cigar-shaped 1I/ʻOumuamua in 2017 and the clearly cometary 2I/Borisov in 2019.

Early chemical analysis has further distinguished this guest, with researchers detecting unusual levels of nickel and iron alongside a distinctive greenish glow not typically seen in native comets.

The data gathered over the last few months has been staggering. Observations from the James Webb Space Telescope and the Hubble Space Telescope have revealed a nucleus estimated between 320 metres and 5.6 kilometres in diameter.

More intriguingly, its staggering velocity—travelling at roughly 58 kilometres per second relative to the Sun—suggests it may have originated from the Milky Way's 'thick disk.' If this theory holds, 3I/ATLAS could be one of the oldest known comets in existence, possibly dating back 11 billion years.

Throughout its transit, the comet has been 'photobombed' by an impressive array of human technology. Beyond the great space observatories, the Juice mission and Europa Clipper captured views of the interloper while en route to Jupiter. Even the rovers currently exploring the dusty plains of Mars turned their cameras skyward to document the visitor.

After its farewell this week, the comet's next major milestone will be a close buzz of Jupiter in March 2026, passing the gas giant at a distance of approximately 33.4 million miles (53.7 million km).

This week, as 3I/ATLAS crosses the Earth-Sun axis, it will be about 2.35 AU from our planet. This is a safe distance that poses no threat but is a great opportunity for study. The comet's hyperbolic path means that it will never come back once it passes this point. It is a one-time visitor that brings the chemical signatures of a faraway, unknown star system back into the dark void of interstellar space.