3I/ATLAS: Interstellar Comet or Alien Probe?
Key Takeaways 3I/ATLAS is the third confirmed interstellar object after 1I/ʻOumuamua (2017) and 2I/Borisov (2019); it’s on a hyperbolic (unbound) trajectory, meaning it came from outside the Solar System and will never return. Core observables: discovered July 1, 2025 by the ATLAS telescope in Chile at about 4.5 AU from the Sun; perihelion on October […]