PARIS Scientists have confirmed the third-ever interstellar object to pass through our Solar System, sparking global excitement in the astronomy community. Officially named 3I/Atlas, this icy cosmic wanderer is believed to be the largest interstellar visitor ever recorded.
The object was first spotted by a NASA-funded ATLAS survey telescope in Chile and later confirmed by the International Astronomical Union’s Minor Planet Center. It is traveling at a blistering speed of over 60 km/second (37 miles/sec) fast enough to escape the Sun’s gravity entirely.
“This comet-like object looks fuzzy and has a faint tail,” said Peter Veres, one of the confirming astronomers. The object, once called A11pl3Z, is now recognized as a true visitor from another star system.
According to Richard Moissl from the European Space Agency, 3I/Atlas will pass safely just inside Mars’ orbit and pose no threat to Earth. Its closest approach to the Sun, called perihelion, will occur on October 29, 2025, after which it will drift back into interstellar space.
Estimated to be 10 or 20 km wide, the object could be smaller if composed largely of reflective ice. Astronomers worldwide are now racing to understand its composition, shape, and trajectory.
This is only the third interstellar object detected, after ʻOumuamua in 2017 and 2I/Borisov in 2019.
Experts suggest there may be 10,000 such objects passing through our solar system at any given time. New tools like the Vera C. Rubin Observatory could help identify many more in the near future.
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