The cosmos just sent us another package from afar. Our Solar System has welcomed its third known visitor from beyond the stars: an interstellar comet, now named 3I/ATLAS. This icy wanderer, roughly 20 to 30 kilometers wide, was first spotted on July 1st.
Astronomers caught sight of it using the ATLAS telescope, based in Chile. This powerful instrument keeps watch on the night sky. The comet arrived from the direction of the Sagittarius constellation, making a long journey to get here.
Right now, this cosmic guest is about 670 million kilometers away from our Sun. Don’t worry, it poses no danger to Earth. It will keep its distance, staying at least 1.6 astronomical units away from our planet. To put that in perspective, one astronomical unit is the distance between the Earth and the Sun.
The comet will make its closest pass to the Sun on October 30th. Even then, it will remain safely within the orbit of Mars. This isn’t the first time we’ve seen an object like this. Before 3I/ATLAS, two other interstellar visitors popped in.
The first was an asteroid named Oumuamua, discovered in 2017. Then came another comet, 2I/Borisov, found in 2019. Each of these objects offers a rare chance for scientists to study material from other star systems directly. They are like cosmic messengers, bringing clues about how planets and comets form around distant stars.
Studying these visitors helps us understand the wider universe better. It shows us that space is full of surprises, and our solar system isn’t a closed-off bubble. Instead, it’s a cosmic port of call for travelers from across the galaxy. Each new discovery reminds us of the constant motion and incredible scale of the universe we live in.