An international team of astronomers detected a mysterious celestial object, baptized 3i Atlas, heading towards the sun at dazzling speed. This is the third interstellar object confirmed to cross the solar system in modern history, after ʻoumuamua (2017) and Borisov (2019).
According to the researchers, 3i Atlas could be the oldest celestial body ever observed by humanity. The object was spotted as it entered the solar system and headed for a close passage trajectory of the sun scheduled for the end of October 2025.
Professor Matthew Hopkins, from Oxford University and head of the research team, has developed a statistical model called Tautahi – Oxford, allowing to trace the origin of the object from its inclined trajectory.
“This object represents a unique opportunity to explore an unprecedented region of our galaxy, which has so far been out of reach,” said Chris Lintott, also an astrophysicist in Oxford. According to him, there would be almost two in three chances that this body is older than our solar system, deriving in interstellar space for billions of years.
According to NASA, the object, most likely a comet, spins at an estimated speed at more than 210,000 km/h. From the first 24 hours after its detection, astronomers confirmed that it was not part of the solar system, which strengthens scientific speculations on its distant origin and its composition.
The celestial body has the typical characteristics of a comet: a hair composed of gas and ice as well as a possible solid nucleus, and could even develop a visible tail. Its total diameter, including the envelope, is evaluated at around 24 kilometers, which makes it a significantly more imposing object thanʻoumuamua or Borisov.
Another peculiarity: 3i Atlas follows a trajectory perpendicular to the ecliptic level, which is extremely rare in our system.
NASA has reassured that 3i Atlas presents no danger for the earth. It will approach the sun at 1.5 astronomical unit (approximately 225 million kilometers), without ever approaching the earth within 1.6 astronomical unit (approximately 240 million kilometers). It could become visible to the naked eye or with an amateur telescope in the coming months.
