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LiveScience
LiveScience
Elizabeth Howell

The UN's International Asteroid Warning Network is closely watching comet 3I/ATLAS. Here's why.

An image of comet 3I/ATLAS with what appear to be spiralling jets shooting off its surface. .

As the interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS prepares for its closest approach to Earth on Dec. 19, it's being monitored not just by space agencies but also the United Nations.

The comet, which will come within roughly 167 million miles (270 million kilometers) of our planet, will be tracked by telescopes around the world so astronomers can pinpoint its location and make predictions about future objects like it.

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