COMET 3I/ATLAS

Have you ever wondered what's out there in space lately?

Today, I’d like to introduce you to 3I/ATLAS. The comet was originally discovered on 1 July 2025 by the NASA-funded Atlas survey telescope in Chile. It is the third interstellar object that humanity has ever found. The “3I” in its name stands for this fact. The first two were “1I/ Oumuamua,” which was discovered in 2017, and “2I/Borisov,” which was discovered in 2019. 

One of the coolest things about 3I/ATLAS is what it’s made of. Its exterior is made of carbon dioxide, and its interior is made of pure nickel. That means it doesn’t come from our Solar System. Because of this reason, some researchers have considered it some kind of alien technology. But the reality is different, of course. It is just a space rock. Another thing is that 3I/ATLAS is much larger than the other two. It’s about 15 kilometres in diameter and traveling at more than 200.000 km/h. The origin of it is still not clear but astronomers say it’s at least 7 billion years old. Its closest approach to Earth was on December 19, 2025.

As everybody knows, space is a wonderful and mysterious place. We will be waiting to see a new visitor. I will be waiting with curiosity, too.

Research more here Comet 3I/ATLAS - NASA Science