Astronomers have identified a rare celestial visitor – comet 3I/ATLAS – marking only the third confirmed interstellar object observed traversing our solar system. Discovered on Tuesday by Chile's ATLAS telescope system, this icy wanderer is sparking global scientific interest as it journeys toward the sun at 60 km/s.
NASA confirmed the comet originated beyond our solar system, following a trajectory from the Milky Way's central region. With an estimated 10 km diameter, 3I/ATLAS dwarfs previous interstellar visitor 2I/Borisov. University of Hawaii astronomer Larry Denneau noted: "We're racing to study its composition before solar approach later this year when it could develop dramatic visible features."
Currently 670 million km from Earth, the comet will make its closest solar approach inside Mars' orbit but poses no planetary threat, maintaining a minimum 240 million km distance from Earth. Its behavior remains unpredictable as solar heating activates surface gases – a process scientists eagerly await to study alien comet chemistry.
This discovery follows 2017's mysterious 1I/'Oumuamua and 2019's 2I/Borisov, offering new opportunities to analyze material from distant star systems. Global telescope networks now track 3I/ATLAS, hoping to unlock secrets of planetary formation across the galaxy.
