New 'Almost Interstellar' Comet C/2025 V1 (Borisov) Makes Closest Earth Approach

A newly discovered comet, C/2025 V1 (Borisov), is making its closest approach to Earth today, November 11, 2025. Discovered by amateur astronomer Gennadiy Borisov on November 2, this celestial visitor is generating significant interest among the scientific community, as reported by Orbital Today. It will pass at a safe distance of approximately 103 million kilometers from our planet.

While not truly interstellar, C/2025 V1 (Borisov) exhibits characteristics that have led some to describe it as "nearly interstellar," according to Live Science. Its orbit displays a high eccentricity, a measure of how much its path deviates from a perfect circle, which is a feature often associated with objects from beyond our solar system.

Astronomers confirm that this comet originates from the Oort Cloud, a vast, icy reservoir at the outer edges of our solar system. This means it remains gravitationally bound to our Sun, despite its elongated trajectory, as explained by IBTimes UK on November 8, 2025. Its perihelion, or closest point to the Sun, is anticipated on November 16, 2025.

A notable feature of C/2025 V1 (Borisov) is its apparent lack of a prominent tail, a phenomenon dubbed a "vanishing tail" by some observers. This characteristic has drawn comparisons to the interstellar object 3I/ATLAS, which also presented with an unusual tail appearance, as noted by The Economic Times on November 11, 2025.

The comet's behavior provides a crucial "control experiment" for understanding the more anomalous interstellar object 3I/ATLAS, according to a November 8, 2025 report from IBTimes UK. Scientists are closely studying C/2025 V1 (Borisov) to observe how a "normal" solar system comet behaves during a close approach, contrasting it with 3I/ATLAS's peculiar movements.

Although faint and requiring optical aid, with an apparent magnitude of around 13.8, C/2025 V1 (Borisov) is visible to stargazers using telescopes or binoculars. theskylive.com reported on November 8, 2025, that it is currently located in the constellation Virgo and best observed just before sunrise.

• The Oort Cloud, the theorized origin of C/2025 V1 (Borisov), is a vast, spherical shell of icy bodies extending from approximately 2,000 to 200,000 astronomical units from the Sun. Proposed by Dutch astronomer Jan Oort, it is believed to be the source of most long-period comets, which formed closer to the Sun and were later scattered outwards by the gravitational influence of giant planets, as detailed by Universe Today.

• The distinction between "nearly interstellar" and truly interstellar objects lies in their orbital eccentricity. While C/2025 V1 (Borisov) has a high eccentricity of 1.00958273, suggesting a very elongated path, it is still gravitationally bound to our Sun. In contrast, interstellar objects like 3I/ATLAS possess a hyperbolic trajectory with an eccentricity significantly greater than 1, indicating they are not bound to the Sun and are merely passing through our solar system, as explained by Wikipedia.

• The "vanishing tail" observed in C/2025 V1 (Borisov) is a key point of scientific inquiry. Comets typically develop a glowing tail as they approach the Sun, due to the sublimation of ice and dust. Orbital Today suggested on November 7, 2025, that the subdued appearance of C/2025 V1's tail could be due to its composition, distance from the Sun, or the angle of observation from Earth, which might obscure its trail.

• 3I/ATLAS, the third confirmed interstellar object, has presented astronomers with several anomalies since its discovery in July 2025. Harvard astrophysicist Professor Avi Loeb has highlighted its non-gravitational acceleration and unusual lack of a gaseous tail, leading to speculation about its nature, as reported by ibtimes UK on November 8, 2025. Its closest approach to the Sun occurred on October 29, 2025, and it will pass closest to Earth on December 19, 2025.

• The study of comets like C/2025 V1 (Borisov) offers crucial insights into the early solar system. These icy remnants from the Oort Cloud preserve primordial material from the protoplanetary disk that formed our solar system 4.6 billion years ago. Analyzing their composition and behavior helps scientists understand the conditions and processes that led to the formation of planets, as noted by Star Maps Australia in August 2023.

• Astronomers are utilizing various instruments to observe C/2025 V1 (Borisov) and 3I/ATLAS. While C/2025 V1 is visible with ground-based telescopes, NASA assets like the Hubble Space Telescope and the James Webb Space Telescope have been observing 3I/ATLAS to gather data on its composition and dynamic behavior. These observations are vital for distinguishing between solar system objects and interstellar visitors, and for testing theories about their origins.

• The naming convention for comets often reflects their discoverer, as seen with C/2025 V1 (Borisov) and the earlier interstellar object 2I/Borisov, both found by Gennadiy Borisov. This tradition sometimes leads to public confusion, with initial speculation linking C/2025 V1 to an interstellar origin due to its discoverer's previous finding, despite scientific evidence pointing to an Oort Cloud origin, as explained by The Economic Times.