3I/ATLAS

Author(s): John van Vliet

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3I/ATLAS is the third known interstellar object ever discovered. First observed in 1 July 2025 by the Asteroid Terrestrial Last-Alert System (ATLAS) survey in Chile, the comet is moving at 68 km/s relative to the Sun and is expected to make close encounters with the planets Mars and Jupiter before and after it reaches perihelion on October 2025.

Artist's impression of what the nucleus of 3I/ATLAS may have looked like

The trajectory of 3I/ATLAS as it passes through the inner Solar System. Current position as of 10 July 2025 is marked in green

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