NASA’s Europa Clipper spacecraft has captured ultraviolet images of the interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS as it makes a close approach to Earth, though the observation was coincidental.

Traveling at roughly 153,000 mph, the comet will pass within about 168 million miles of our planet on Dec. 18–19, visible as a faint green dot through backyard telescopes.

The spacecraft’s Europa Ultraviolet Spectrograph collected seven hours of data from 102 million miles away on Nov. 6, revealing details beyond the visible spectrum.

Clipper’s main mission remains studying Jupiter’s moon Europa, where it will search for signs of extraterrestrial life in the moon’s ice-covered ocean and analyze geysers and surface chemistry, Live Science has reported.

The comet’s close flyby offers a rare bonus observation opportunity as both objects head toward Jupiter, with Clipper arriving in 2030 and 3I/ATLAS reaching the gas giant in 2026.