Is Comet 3I/Atlas a Potential Threat? Experts Weigh In on What You Need to Know

On July 1, 2025, the Asteroid Terrestrial-Impact Last Alert System (ATLAS) in Chile spotted a comet named 3I/ATLAS. This is just the third interstellar object we’ve seen passing through our solar system, following 1I/’Oumuamua in 2017 and 2I/BORISOV in 2019. Scientists believe 3I/ATLAS has an icy composition, similar to 2I/BORISOV, but there’s still a lot to learn about it before it speeds away from us by the year’s end.

3I/ATLAS is expected to get closest to the sun in late October 2025. As it warms up, some of its ice will melt, possibly creating a bright comet tail made of vapor and dust. Right now, it has a faint coma—a cloud of gas and dust surrounding its nucleus—but that might change as it approaches the sun. There’s buzz around how it will pass through Mars’ orbit, raising questions about what might happen then.

The fact that ATLAS discovered this comet has raised some eyebrows. ATLAS primarily aims to warn us about space objects that could threaten Earth. However, NASA has confirmed that 3I/ATLAS poses no risk, as it will pass safely at 170 million miles from our planet.

ATLAS is more than a warning system; it’s also a tool for scientific discovery. It uses a network of telescopes that scan the night sky 24/7 from various places around the world. This global coverage helps detect comets and asteroids that could potentially impact Earth. Upon its discovery, researchers determined that 3I/ATLAS is moving incredibly fast—about 137,000 miles per hour—and is on a trajectory that suggests it’s from an older region of the Milky Way.

In fact, scientists estimate that 3I/ATLAS could be around 7 billion years old, making it the oldest observed comet yet. This historical context adds a layer of intrigue; it may carry clues about the early universe.

Some scientists, including Harvard astrophysicist Abraham Loeb, have even speculated that 3I/ATLAS might not be a comet at all, but possibly an alien probe. Although such claims are often met with skepticism, Loeb’s previous theories about interstellar objects have spurred conversations in the scientific community about what we might discover in the cosmos.

While current evidence supports the idea that 3I/ATLAS is just an interstellar comet, it’s a reminder of how many unknowns are out there. Studies suggest that millions of similar objects could pass through our solar system undetected. As we keep an eye on 3I/ATLAS, we should remain open to the mysteries the universe may hold.

For more on space exploration, you can read additional articles from NASA here.

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our solar system, interstellar object, ATLAS