Sometimes, "the universe comes to us," writes the European Space Agency — the third time now since 2017. What is it and are we prepared?

The third interstellar object detected has been named 3I/ATLAS and was discovered on July 1 from Chile. Astronomers from the Institute of Astrophysics of the Canary Islands are tracking it with several telescopes in Tenerife.

You can watch comet 3I/ATLAS live online tonight (July 3), thanks to the Virtual Telescope Project, which will livestream views beginning at 6:00 p.m. EDT (2200 GMT). The feed will showcase imagery from telescopes in Manciano, Italy, weather permitting. Tune in via Virtual Telescope's WebTV, YouTube channel or here on Space.com.