3I/ATLAS is a rare 12-mile-long interstellar object traveling at an extraordinary speed of 135,000 miles per hour towards the sun. First detected by NASA on July 1, it has since been confirmed to be an active comet, illustrated by its bright appearance causing a glowing coma of gas and ice as it approaches the sun. Notably, some experts, including Harvard physicist Avi Loeb, suggest its brightness could indicate a non-natural origin. Currently, it is 420 million miles away from Earth and is expected to reach its closest point to the sun on October 30.
3I/ATLAS, officially titled, is a 12-mile-long interstellar object traveling at 135,000 miles per hour towards the sun, first spotted by NASA on July 1.
The European Space Agency has captured the first video of 3I/ATLAS, showing it is extremely bright, potentially due to it being an active comet.
Professor Avi Loeb from Harvard University suggests that if 3I/ATLAS is not a comet, its brightness could indicate a non-natural origin, such as artificial light.
NASA's ATLAS telescope first detected 3I/ATLAS as a faint light; scientists have since combined precovery and new data to confirm its interstellar nature.
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