By Samuel A. Lopez, USA Herald – October 25, 2025
Somewhere behind the blinding curtain of the Sun, a visitor from another star system is stirring. The interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS, which vanished from Earth’s view in mid-October, is now racing toward the far side of its orbit. Astronomers expect it to re-emerge around October 29 or 30, right as Halloween blankets the world in mystery and imagination. Whether it comes back as the same green wanderer—or something entirely transformed—remains one of the most tantalizing questions in modern astronomy.
When it was last visible, 3I/ATLAS was already rewriting the rulebook. Spectroscopic data showed it releasing vast amounts of carbon dioxide but surprisingly little water—an alien chemistry that defied comparison to any known solar-system comet. The James Webb Space Telescope recorded its coma flaring irregularly, hinting at dynamic changes deep beneath its surface. Then, as it entered the Sun’s glare, it vanished—into a region of intense radiation, magnetic turbulence, and mystery.
