Astronomers have spotted a new comet from beyond our solar system, marking only the third time such an interstellar visitor has been observed.
The comet, named 3I/ATLAS, was discovered on Tuesday by the Asteroid Terrestrial-impact Last Alert System (ATLAS) telescope in Rio Hurtado, Chile. Its unusual trajectory indicates it originated from outside our solar system, journeying toward us at a staggering speed of about 60 kilometers per second from the direction of the center of the Milky Way galaxy.
Currently located approximately 670 million kilometers from Earth, 3I/ATLAS is capturing the attention of scientists worldwide. “Beyond that we do not know very much, and there are many efforts underway to observe this object with larger telescopes to determine composition,” said Larry Denneau, co-principal investigator for ATLAS and an astronomer at the University of Hawaii.
This discovery follows two previous interstellar objects: 1I/’Oumuamua, detected in 2017, and 2I/Borisov, found in 2019. According to Denneau, 3I/ATLAS shares some similarities with 2I/Borisov, as it appears to be an icy comet. However, it’s much larger, potentially measuring up to 10 kilometers in diameter.
The comet currently exhibits a faint coma—the cloud of gas and dust surrounding its nucleus. “The coma and tail may increase dramatically as the object comes closer to the sun,” Denneau explained. Its closest approach will be later this year when it moves inside the orbit of Mars. “We don’t know what will happen, so that’s exciting,” he added.
Despite its relatively close pass, astronomers assure that 3I/ATLAS poses no threat to Earth. The comet will never come closer than 240 million kilometers away.
