{"id":278341,"date":"2025-07-20T21:39:17","date_gmt":"2025-07-20T21:39:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/278341\/"},"modified":"2025-07-20T21:39:17","modified_gmt":"2025-07-20T21:39:17","slug":"3i-atlas-what-initial-observations-reveal-about-this-interstellar-visitor-crossing-our-solar-system","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/278341\/","title":{"rendered":"3I\/Atlas: What initial observations reveal about this interstellar visitor crossing our solar system"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>A new cosmic visitor is racing through our Solar System: 3I\/Atlas. Captured by ESO\u2019s Very Large Telescope, this interstellar comet promises to expand our understanding of the Galaxy\u2019s icy frontier.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"1024\" src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/3I-Atlas_ESO-VLT-1024x1024.jpeg\" alt=\"\"  \/><\/p>\n<p>Image of Comet 3I\/Atlas obtained by ESO\u2019s Very Large Telescope. \u00a9 ESO<\/p>\n<p>Unmistakable Cometary Features<\/p>\n<p>Observatories in Chile, Arizona, and Hawaii confirmed that 3I\/Atlas sports both a coma and a tail\u2014hallmarks of cometary activity. Hurtling sunward at over 200 000 km\/h, this visitor from the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.futura-sciences.com\/en\/unprecedented-astronomers-just-spotted-an-extraordinarily-violent-explosion-near-the-milky-way_16516\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><strong>Milky Way<\/strong><\/a>\u2019s depths is already spewing dust and gas, giving scientists a front-row seat to study its composition.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n<p>Timelapse of 3I\/Atlas passing through our Solar System. \u00a9 ESO<\/p>\n<p>Ancient Origins in the Thick Disk<\/p>\n<p>Data suggests 3I\/Atlas formed in a region rich in ice more than 10 billion years ago\u2014twice the age of our Sun. If confirmed, this would make it the oldest object ever sampled in our Solar System, hailing from the Galaxy\u2019s \u201cthick disk\u201d where primordial materials linger. Researchers hope to detect <strong>complex molecules<\/strong> or <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.futura-sciences.com\/en\/this-fruit-might-boost-your-sleep-and-heart-health_18612\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">amino acids<\/a><\/strong> trapped in its frozen core.<\/p>\n<p>Size and Structure Mysteries<\/p>\n<p>Simulations put 3I\/Atlas\u2019s nucleus at 10\u201320 km across, but its bright gas and dust cloud could mask a much smaller core. Future observations aim to pin down its true dimensions.<\/p>\n<p>A Brief but Decisive Window<\/p>\n<p>3I\/Atlas will swoop within 210 million km of the Sun on October 30 at 68 km\/s, then pass 269 million km from Earth on December 19\u2014its brightest moment. Though still beyond naked-eye reach, this flyby offers our best chance yet to probe an <a href=\"https:\/\/www.futura-sciences.com\/en\/we-have-proof-of-extraterrestrial-civilizations-says-astrophysicist-avi-loeb_9301\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><strong>interstellar<\/strong><\/a> object\u2019s makeup.<\/p>\n<p>Prepared for the Next Visitor<\/p>\n<p>Thanks to early detection and powerful instruments like the VLT and the upcoming Vera C. Rubin Observatory, astronomers stand ready for more interstellar discoveries. Each new guest helps us unveil the secrets of star formation, planetary birth, and the icy wanderers that bridge the vast space between the stars.<\/p>\n<p>With 3I\/Atlas, we\u2019re witnessing a cosmic messenger that has journeyed billions of years to tell the story of our Galaxy\u2019s oldest, most <strong>pristine<\/strong> regions.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"100\" height=\"100\" src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/auteur-fs-100x100.webp.webp\" class=\"attachment-100x100 size-100x100\" alt=\"author-fs\" itemprop=\"image\"  \/><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A new cosmic visitor is racing through our Solar System: 3I\/Atlas. Captured by ESO\u2019s Very Large Telescope, this&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":278342,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3844],"tags":[70,413,16,15],"class_list":{"0":"post-278341","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-space","8":"tag-science","9":"tag-space","10":"tag-uk","11":"tag-united-kingdom"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/114887731709918567","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/278341","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=278341"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/278341\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/278342"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=278341"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=278341"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=278341"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}