Watch comet/alien spacecraft 3I/ATLAS make its closest approach to Earth

3I/ATLAS is definitely a comet, not an alien spacecraft, but it is only the third confirmed interstellar object detected in our solar system, and may be as much as 7 billion years old, so it is still pretty cool and worth checking out. As it makes its closest approach to Earth tonight, the comet will appear to most small consumer-grade telescopes as just a smudge. But the Virtual Telescope Project has astronomy enthusiasts covered with a livestream of the comet's approach in real time.

The live stream starts at 0400 UTC on Dec. 19, or 11 pm Eastern tonight. At approximately 1 am Eastern, the comet will be roughly 270 million kilometers or 168 million miles from Earth, its closest approach before heading out of our solar system.

The Virtual Telescope Project is run by volunteers and uses several robotically controlled telescopes to stream notable astronomical events free of charge, relying on donations to cover costs.

Previously:
• Manhattan-sized comet becomes third confirmed interstellar object
• That comet we just landed on? It's singing us a song. Listen.
• Requiem for a comet