Scientists are racing to learn as much as possible about the interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS before it fades from view forever

The Gemini North telescope in Hawaii recently snapped a close-up of the comet that's captured the world’s attention.

3I/ATLAS is only the third object which has been confirmed to have originated outside our solar system after 1I/Oumuamua (2017) and 2I/Borisov (2019). It was discovered by the NASA-funded Asteroid Terrestrial-impact Last Alert System (ATLAS) on July 1 and is expected to make its closest approach to the Sun on October 30.