NASA announced that an interstellar object, 3I/ATLAS, is passing through the solar system this year and will be visible until September 2025. Discovered by the ATLAS program, it is believed to be a comet that poses no threat to Earth. Astronomers have more time to study this object compared to previous interstellar detections. It reflects the building blocks of planets and will be observed using various telescopes. Observers can catch a livestream today at 6 p.m. ET.
This is a tremendous step forward and a tremendous opportunity. And if the public is excited about it, the astronomers are twice as excited. It's a really big deal.
The comet poses no threat to Earth and will remain at a distance of at least 1.6 astronomical units (about 150 million miles or 240 million kilometers).
Scientists study interstellar objects the same way they study the comets and asteroids that form closer to home, asking what the objects are made of and how they formed.
So far, astronomers think it's a comet, an icy body that appears to have a tail due to gas and dust trailing behind it.
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