3I/ATLAS has made a reappearance.
According to the New York Post, contrary to viral claims suggesting that 3I/ATLAS had vanished or was “no longer from Earth,” astronomers now say the Manhattan-sized comet is visible once again — and anyone with basic viewing equipment can catch a glimpse.
Astronomer Yicheng Zhang captured an image of the mysterious comet on November 1, sharing the shot in a post that quickly gained attention on Cometary.org.
“The comet is easily visible with small telescopes now,” said Zhang, a postdoctoral fellow who studies small-body astronomy at the Lowell Observatory in Flagstaff, Arizona.
In his post, Zhang explained that he used a 152-mm Ritchey–Chrétien reflector — a six-inch telescope with a curved focal point — to capture the photo, noting that 3I/ATLAS’s increased visibility is due to it “rising early enough in [the] morning twilight.”
The development follows months of speculation after the comet disappeared behind the Sun in September, leading experts to believe it wouldn’t be visible again until later in November.
However, Zhang clarified that ATLAS’s temporary disappearance was more about equipment limitations than any mysterious cosmic behavior.
“A lot of large telescopes… can’t point very close to the horizon,” he explained, adding that even the Hubble and James Webb Space Telescopes avoid pointing near the Sun to protect their optics.
Zhang said he used the Lowell Discovery Telescope on October 31 — one designed for comet observation — capable of angling as low as 5 degrees, allowing it to observe much closer to the Sun.
He added that now “anyone with a telescope of that size and a clear sky plus a low Eastern horizon… would probably be able to catch it now.”
“It’s much easier with a camera, but I expect it can probably be seen visually too with a telescope of that size,” Zhang said.
Michigan State University astronomy professor Darryl Seligman told The Post that ATLAS will reach its brightest and closest approach in December, advising enthusiasts to use a good amateur telescope in a dark, dry area.
“I’d say wait a few more weeks, and then the best shot is always going to the highest and driest place that you can get to – ideally away from as much light pollution as possible,” Seligman said.
He noted that the comet’s trajectory is highly predictable, adding that “we know exactly where it’s going to be in the sky at all points in the future.”
Not everyone agrees on what ATLAS really is. Harvard astrophysicist Avi Loeb recently argued that the comet’s unusual movements and its bright, blue glow could indicate a “technological signature of an internal engine” — hinting that it might not be a comet at all, but a possible alien spacecraft.
