A Cosmic Visitor Named 3I/ATLAS

A strange object is zooming through our solar system, and scientists now know it's from another star system. This object, initially called A11pl3Z, has been officially named 3I/ATLAS.

Speed and Trajectory

• Speed: Around 152,000 mph
• Current Distance: 4.5 times farther from the sun than Earth
• Closest Approach to Sun: October 30, within 1.4 times the Earth-sun distance
• After Sun: Will swing by Mars and then head back out of our solar system
• Distance from Earth: At least 1.6 times the Earth-sun distance

Characteristics

• Type: Likely a comet
• Coma: Bright cloud of gas and ice
• Tail: Visible tail
• Size: Could be up to 12 miles across

Discovery and Observation

• First Spotted: By telescopes in Hawaii, Chile, and South Africa
• Current Visibility: Too faint for regular telescopes but might get brighter
• Livestream: Available through the Virtual Telescope Project

Scientific Significance

• Third Interstellar Object: After 'Oumuamua (2017) and Comet 2I/Borisov (2019)
• Study Period: Until September when it gets too close to the sun's light, and then again from December
• Uncertainties: Size and shape still unknown