Tim Reckner — Comment
Date: July 3, 2025
NASA Discovers Interstellar Comet 3I/ATLAS (July 3, 2025)
On July 3, 2025, NASA announced the discovery of an interstellar comet named 3I/ATLAS. Currently, the comet is approximately 670 million kilometers from Earth and will never come closer than 1.6 AU (about 240 million kilometers). It is located around 4.5 AU from the Sun and will approach 1.4 AU on October 30, placing it just inside the orbit of Mars before it heads back into deep space.
The comet will remain visible to telescopes until September, when it will disappear behind the Sun, but it is expected to re-emerge in December.
Tim Reckner — Comment
India Resumes Tourist Visas for Chinese Visitors (July 24, 2025)
The Indian Embassy in China announced on July 24, 2025, that India will resume issuing tourist visas to Chinese citizens after a five-year suspension. The issuance of visas was halted in 2020 due to the COVID-19 outbreak, and this suspension continued amid border tensions and restrictions that included the invalidation of visas, a ban on Chinese apps, a halt to flights, and stricter investment rules.
Under the new process, Chinese travelers must submit an online application, book an appointment, and provide documents in person at the embassy in Beijing or at consulates in Shanghai and Guangzhou. This decision marks a diplomatic thaw, as both countries prepare to resume direct flights and reopen the pilgrimage route to Tibet, creating new opportunities for tourism and people-to-people exchanges.