NASA confirms discovery of 1st interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS
NASA has confirmed the discovery of 3I/ATLAS, only the third known interstellar object to enter our solar system from deep space—after 'Oumuamua and Borisov.
First picked up by the ATLAS telescope in Chile, its unusual hyperbolic orbit means it's not from around here.
How to spot the comet
No worries—3I/ATLAS will stay at least 270 million kilometers away from Earth in December, so there's zero risk.
The best time to spot it with ground telescopes is November and December, though sunlight glare might make things tricky.
Are aliens behind the comet's odd features?
Researchers have noticed some odd features, like a blue glow and unexpected motion.
Harvard's Avi Loeb called these "anomalies," but most experts agree they're natural quirks of a comet from another star system—not signs of anything artificial.
For now, 3I/ATLAS is just an awesome cosmic messenger passing through.