Interstellar Comet 3I/ATLAS: A Visitor from Beyond the Solar System
The ATLAS telescope in Chile discovered interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS on July 1, 2025. Hubble images show a teardrop-shaped coma and faint tail, with the nucleus estimated at 1–2 km wide. The comet will pass closest to Earth at 1.6–1.8 AU in late October, remaining behind the Sun. Over 100 observations were made in its first week to study its size, rotation, and composition.