Stranger from afar: Nasa confirms interstellar comet 3I/Atlas in our solar system; set to make a close pass in October
An intergalactic comet that strayed into our backyard has been discovered by Nasa. Earlier this week, the space agency used Chile’s Atlas telescope to observe the swiftly moving object and verified that it was a comet from a different star system. It is not a threat to Earth and is officially the third known interstellar object to transit through our solar system.According to an AP report, the most recent visitor is located close to Jupiter, 416 million miles (670 million kilometers) from the sun. According to Nasa, the comet will move between the orbits of Mars and Earth during its closest approach to the sun in October. It will pass safely within 150 million miles (240 million kilometers) of the red planet.In order to ascertain the comet’s size and shape, astronomers from all around the world are keeping an eye on the icy snowball known as 3I/Atlas. Telescopes should be able to see it until September before it approaches the sun too closely. In December, it should resurface on the opposite side of the sun.Oumuamua, which means scout in Hawaiian, was the first interstellar visitor seen from Earth. It was named for the Hawaii observatory that made the discovery in 2017. The elongated Oumuamua was initially classified as an asteroid, but it has now shown evidence of being a comet.In 2019, an amateur astronomer from Crimea named 21/Borisov spotted the second object that has been verified to have wandered from another star system into our own. It is also thought to be a comet.
