Mysterious Interstellar Comet 3I/ATLAS Nears Sun – 10-Billion-Year Visitor Sparks Alien Theories and Scientific Awe
Key Facts and Highlights A Visitor From Beyond the Solar System In July 2025, astronomers spotted a faint newcomer inbound toward the Sun – one that was not gravitationally bound to our star at all. The object, now designated 3I/ATLAS, is only the third interstellar visitor ever detected in our solar systemts2.tech. (The “3I” prefix marks it as the third Interstellar object.) It was first observed on July 1, 2025 by the ATLAS sky-survey telescope in Río Hurtado, Chile, and its discovery immediately caused excitement. The reason? Its orbit was hyperbolic, meaning it’s not a periodic comet from our Oort Cloud