Comet 31/ATLAS Over Cliff Ocean On December 19, 2025, Comet 31/ATLAS sweeps through our sky at its closest approach to Earth, turning an ordinary winter night into a rare encounter with a wandering fragment of deep time. As it glides past, sunlight heats its icy core and releases gas and dust, forming a glowing coma and a soft tail that stretches across the stars like a pale brushstroke from the outer reaches of the solar system. Under dark, clear skies, this traveler becomes a silent reminder t

Comet tails normally point away from the sun... blown outward by solar wind. But anti-tails point toward the sun. Two tails in opposite directions. Unusual... but not unheard of. This suggests 3I Atlas was breaking up. Disintegration is part of the natural life cycle of a comet. | The Randall Carlson

DON’T MISS IT — COMET C/2025 A6 (LEMMON) Tonight is a once-in-a-lifetime cosmic event. The brilliant Comet Lemmon glows in the night with a shimmering blue-green tail, visible above the northwestern horizon. This icy traveler, fresh from the edge of our Solar System, creates a luminous display as its shining tail fans out for millions of kilometers. Best viewed after sunset or before dawn binoculars or a telescope reveal breathtaking detail! Comet Lemmon won’t return for thousands of years, so s