Meet Dr. Larry Denneau: The mind behind interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS
Dr. Larry Denneau, a senior software engineer at the University of Hawaii, just made waves by spotting the interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS on July 1, 2025.
As co-lead of the ATLAS project (Asteroid Terrestrial-impact Last Alert System), he verified and submitted the discovery observations after carefully checking ATLAS's data—putting his name behind a rare cosmic find.
What does Denneau actually do?
Denneau runs ATLAS's massive nightly data pipeline, sorting through huge amounts of space images to flag anything unusual.
The ATLAS pipeline detected 3I/ATLAS in four separate exposures, and Denneau reviewed and submitted the detection, and soon after, NASA and the Minor Planet Center confirmed it was truly an interstellar visitor.
Why is he such a big deal in astronomy?
With a PhD in astrophysics, Denneau is known for double-checking discoveries to avoid false alarms—he even verified another asteroid earlier this year.
Whether it's routine finds or once-in-a-lifetime comets, he helps make sure ATLAS gets it right every time.