A new interstellar comet named 3I/ATLAS has been spotted racing through our Solar System.

By Aniket Chakraborty

July 3, 2025

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It’s only the third object ever confirmed to originate from beyond the Solar System.

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3I/ATLAS was first detected on July 1 by the ATLAS telescope in Rio Hurtado, Chile.

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Its path traces back to the constellation Sagittarius—far beyond our Sun’s reach.

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Archived data from ATLAS and Zwicky telescopes show it was visible as early as June 14.

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The comet is now 670 million km away, near Jupiter’s orbit, but poses no threat to Earth.

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At its closest approach to the Sun on October 30, it will be just inside Mars’ orbit.

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The comet will disappear in late fall due to solar glare and reappear in December.

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Telescopes worldwide are racing to study its size, speed, and mysterious origin.

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3I/ATLAS is a rare celestial visitor—a message from another star system flying by.

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