Interstellar Comet 3I/ATLAS Spotted in 2025 🌌

On 1 July 2025, the Asteroid Terrestrial-impact Last Alert System (ATLAS) telescope in Río Hurtado, Chile, observed a comet that originated from interstellar space. Officially named 3I/ATLAS, the comet poses no threat to Earth and will remain at a distance of at least 1.6 astronomical units (240 million km). 3I/ATLAS will reach its closest approach to the Sun around 30 October 2025. 3I/ATLAS is the third interstellar object observed, following 1I/ʻOumuamua in 2017 and 2I/Borisov in 2019.

Credit:
ATLAS/University of Hawaiʻi
ESA / Las Cumbres Observatory
Gianluca Masi/The Virtual Telescope Project
NASA/JPL-Caltech
Music: “No.9 Esther’s Waltz - Esther Abrami” courtesy of YouTube Audio Library