A cosmic intruder the size of Manhattan has been caught sneaking through our solar system, marking only the third time astronomers have spotted such an interstellar renegade. This blazing comet, dubbed 3I/ATLAS, was unmasked on Tuesday by NASA’s ATLAS telescope in Chile, sending scientists into a frenzy as they scrambled to track its elusive path, traced back to June 14, NASA revealed Wednesday.
“This celestial vagabond has been drifting through the void for possibly billions of years, wandering from one stellar neighborhood to another,” said Paul Chodas, director of NASA’s Center for Near Earth Object Studies, on Thursday. “Its origins are a mystery—we can’t pinpoint which distant star it called home.”
Hailing from the direction of the constellation Sagittarius, this icy behemoth is no threat to Earth, expected to glide by at a safe 150 million miles in October. Currently, it’s loitering 416 million miles from the sun, near Jupiter, tearing through space at a blistering 37 miles per second. Early observations reveal a dazzling spectacle: a glowing tail and a swirling halo of gas and dust enveloping its nucleus, making it a cosmic showstopper.
Spanning an impressive 12 miles across, 3I/ATLAS dwarfs its predecessors, the first two interstellar drifters ever observed. “We’ve been waiting decades for these cosmic visitors, and now they’re finally showing up,” Chodas said, barely containing his excitement. “It’s not an alien spaceship, so don’t get carried away—but it’s still absolutely thrilling!”
The first interstellar object to grace our skies was Oumuamua, spotted by a Hawaiian observatory in 2017. The second, 21/Borisov, made its debut in 2019. Now, 3I/ATLAS steals the spotlight, visible through telescopes until September before it swings past the sun, only to reemerge in early December for another dazzling display.
This interstellar scandal has astronomers buzzing, eager to unravel the secrets of a comet that’s been cruising the cosmos for eons, with no clue where it’s been or where it’s headed next. One thing’s certain: the universe just got a little more exciting.