‘Will keep safe distance from Earth’: Nasa spots interstellar comet in solar system; shares picture |

Nasa spots interstellar comet in solar system, names it 3I/Atlas (Credit: Nasa)

In a uncommon sight, Nasa has noticed a fast-moving object from one other star system that’s presently lurking about 4.5 au (about 416 million miles or 670 million km) from the Sun, in our solar system. Nasa noticed the interstellar object by the sky-surveying ATLAS (Asteroid Terrestrial-impact Last Alert System) survey telescope in Chile earlier this week and confirmed that the article was a comet. Astronomers world wide are monitoring the comet, which is formally named 3I/Atlas.It is just the third recognized alien object to go by our solar system. Astronomers mentioned the comet will go by with out posing a menace to Earth.“It appears somewhat fuzzy,” mentioned Peter Veres, an astronomer with the International Astronomical Union’s Minor Planet Center. “There appears to be some fuel surrounding it, and at the least one or two telescopes have reported a brief tail”, reported AFP.

This diagram reveals the trajectory of interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS because it passes by the solar system. (Image credit score: NASA/JPL-Caltech)

Its closest brush with the Sun will come around October 30, when it will scoot between Mars and Earth at a distance of 1.4 au (about 130 million miles or 210 million km), nearer to Mars.The cigar‑shaped Oumuamua was the first such object in 2017, followed by comet 21/Borisov in 2019. Now 3I/Atlas joins the list, offering scientists a closer look at the comet’s size and physical properties. It is expected to emerge on the other side of the Sun by early December.