An outsider found in our solar system: Nasa spots interstellar comet, tracks its path

A comet originating from outside our solar system has been spotted by a NASA-funded telescope in Chile, scientists confirmed this week, marking only the third known interstellar object to pass through our cosmic neighbourhood.

The object, now officially designated 3I/ATLAS, was first observed on July 1 by the ATLAS (Asteroid Terrestrial-impact Last Alert System) survey telescope located in Rio Hurtado. It arrived from the direction of the constellation Sagittarius and is currently about 420 million miles, or 670 million kilometres, from Earth.

Following the initial discovery, astronomers reviewed archived data and found earlier detections dating back to June 14. These “pre-discovery” observations were collected from three other ATLAS telescopes positioned across the globe and from the Zwicky Transient Facility at the Palomar Observatory in San Diego County, California. Numerous telescopes have since confirmed sightings of the comet.

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Nasa officials have stated that the comet poses no threat to Earth. It is projected to remain at least 1.6 astronomical units away, or roughly 150 million miles, equivalent to 240 million kilometres. The comet is currently around 4.5 astronomical units from the Sun, which is about 416 million miles or 670 million kilometres.

3I/ATLAS is expected to make its closest approach to the Sun around 30 October, reaching a distance of approximately 1.4 astronomical units, or 130 million miles, which is about 210 million kilometres. That will place it just inside the orbit of Mars.

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Astronomers around the world are actively studying the comet’s size and composition. It is expected to remain visible to ground-based telescopes until September. After that, it will pass too close to the Sun to observe safely. Scientists expect it to reappear on the far side of the Sun by early December, offering another opportunity to study the rare interstellar visitor.

The discovery marks a significant milestone in space observation, following the earlier detections of 1I/‘Oumuamua in 2017 and 2I/Borisov in 2019, both of which also originated from beyond our solar system.