Manhattan-Sized interstellar comet discovered by NASA
NASA's ATLAS telescope in Chile has spotted 3I/ATLAS, making it only the third confirmed interstellar object to visit our solar system.
Detected on July 1, 2025, this comet likely came from the direction of Sagittarius and was traced back using earlier observations.
A huge comet with a glowing tail
At discovery, it was about 670 million km from the Sun—out near Jupiter—and speeding along at roughly 60km/s.
It's pretty big for a comet (about 20km wide) and sports a glowing tail made of gas and dust.
Key dates for 3I/ATLAS
3I/ATLAS will swing closest to the Sun in late October 2025, passing just inside the orbit of Mars.
Its closest approach to us is still a distant 240 million km—so no worries there!
You can catch it with a telescope until September; after it slips behind the Sun, it'll pop back into view in December.
A rare chance to study material from another star system
This is a rare chance for scientists to study material from another star system up close.
As this cosmic traveler passes by, researchers get valuable clues about what's out there beyond our solar neighborhood—a real treat for anyone curious about space!