Discover the Fascinating Interstellar Object Zipping Through Our Solar System!

This week, astronomers celebrated a big cosmic find: the third known interstellar object in our Solar System. First spotted by the Asteroid Terrestrial-impact Last Alert System (ATLAS) on July 1, it was initially named A11pl3Z. Now, NASA and the International Astronomical Union have officially named it I3/ATLAS.

What makes I3/ATLAS special? For starters, it’s zooming through space at about 245,000 km/h—fast enough to escape the Sun’s pull. This is significantly quicker than the roughly 150,000 km/h needed for an object near Earth to break free from our Solar System’s gravity.

Another fascinating detail is its orbit. I3/ATLAS has an eccentricity of 6.3, the highest ever recorded. Eccentricity describes how stretched an orbit is; a value of 0 indicates a circle, and anything above 1 suggests a path that doesn’t loop back to the Sun.

Historically, the first interstellar object we spotted was the famous ‘Oumuamua in 2017, detected by the Pan-STARRS1 telescope. Scientists tracked it for 80 days before confirming it came from outside our Solar System. The second interstellar visitor, comet 2I/Borisov, was found in 2019, confirmed just weeks after its discovery. By comparison, I3/ATLAS’s interstellar origin was confirmed in just a few days.

What about how these objects get here? Recent research in The Planetary Science Journal suggests that interstellar objects might be more common than we thought. They could come from nearby stars, like Alpha Centauri, our closest star system at just 4.4 light-years away. Scientists estimate that over a million objects larger than 100 meters from Alpha Centauri may already be hanging out in our Solar System’s outer reaches.

Although many of these objects drift slowly, it’s estimated that tiny meteors from Alpha Centauri, possibly as small as grains of sand, enter Earth’s atmosphere every year. The chance of a significant interstellar object entering our Solar System is low, yet these occasional visitors offer thrilling insights into our galaxy.

Why does this all matter? Each new interstellar find helps us understand the universe better. Powerful observatories like the NSF–DOE Vera C. Rubin Observatory are improving our ability to spot these rare objects. During its initial imaging tests, Rubin discovered over 2,100 new asteroids. With its wide field of view, it may soon make finding interstellar visitors a regular occurrence.

As for I3/ATLAS, it’s currently classified as a comet, but some scientists believe it could be an asteroid based on its characteristics. More studies will clarify its true nature. It’s now moving toward its closest point to the Sun, expected to be near Mars on October 29 before swinging back out to deep space, with its closest approach to Earth happening in December—though it won’t pose any threat.

Whether it ends up being a comet or an asteroid, I3/ATLAS is a fascinating messenger from beyond our Solar System. As new observatories continue to launch, the excitement of discovering more interstellar visitors could become a regular part of our exploration of the cosmos.

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