A newly discovered object zipping through our solar system is sparking excitement amongst astronomers as it is not from here. Believed to be a comet, this object is just the third celestial body from beyond our solar system to be observed in our cosmic backyard.
The interstellar object has been officially named 3I/ATLAS, which became known when the NASA-funded ATLAS telescope in Chile reported spotting it on Tuesday. Since then, archival observations have been reviewed, and the comet’s movement has been tracked back to June 14. The astronomers also discovered that the celestial body was coming from the direction of the Sagittarius constellation.
According to Gianluca Masi, astronomer and astrophysicist at the Bellatrix Astronomical Observatory in Italy and founder and scientific director of the Virtual Telescope Project, the speed and path that the zipping comet is taking are two key indicators that the object is coming from beyond the solar system. The comet is moving at nearly 37 miles per second (60 kilometers per second) — or 133,200 miles per hour (about 214,364 kilometers per hour), which is too fast to be called a local object in our solar system.
Objects bound to the sun take paths around it and return to the same point after orbiting the sun. This object, on the other hand, is travelling in a nearly straight line through the solar system. According to Dr. Paul Chodas, director of NASA’s Center of Near-Earth Object Studies at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California, tracking the object’s orbit also reveals the path it has taken to reach our solar system. On backtracking the motion of 3I/ATLAS, the origins of the comet lie outside our solar system. It must have originated in a different solar system and has been travelling in interstellar space before encountering our solar system.
Comet 3I/ATLAS follows two other interstellar objects, called ISOs: Oumuamua in 2017 and 2I/Borisov in 2019. Little is known about the comet 3I/ATLAS. Astronomers estimate its diameter to be 12 miles (20 kilometers), with a major discrepancy due to the object’s brightness. The comet is the brightest and fastest of the three interstellar objects discovered so far. This comet is approaching our solar system from the Milky Way’s galactic center, a direction different from previous objects.
The object is losing mass like other comets. Comets are composed of ice, rock, and frozen gases, and as they approach areas close to the Sun, or any other star, heat causes them to release gas and dust, creating a tail.
The comet poses no threat to our planet and will remain at a distance of 150 million miles from our planet. The comet is at a distance of 416 million miles from the sun. According to NASA, on October 30, the comet will come closest to the sun, at a distance of 130 million miles. The comet will come closest to Earth on December 19, at a distance of 167 million miles.
Masi said the comet is currently visible in the Sagittarius constellation, which is best viewed from the southern sky in the middle of the night. While the full moon on July 10 will make 3I/ATLAS difficult to observe, observations even with small telescopes should improve in the coming months, he added.
Astronomers expect that the comet will remain in sight through ground-based telescopes through September before disappearing from view. The comet is set to reappear on the other side of the sun in early December. According to Chodas, the comet will remain observable well into mid-2026.
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