3I/ATLAS: Third interstellar object discovered in the 21st century
Say hello to 3I/ATLAS, the latest interstellar object to swing by our solar system!
Discovered in July 2025, this speedy traveler comes from another star system and zipped in at nearly 60km per second. Talk about fast.
It's only the third of its kind we've ever spotted, after Oumuamua (2017) and 2I/Borisov (2019), making it a pretty rare cosmic guest.
ESA's Comet Interceptor mission
With more of these mysterious objects expected to show up every year, astronomers are stepping up their game.
The European Space Agency is planning to launch the Comet Interceptor in 2029, a spacecraft that will hang out in space, ready to chase down new arrivals like 3I/ATLAS.
Since these objects move so quickly and don't stick around for long, being prepared is key if we want to learn more about them.