3I/ATLAS: How many interstellar visitors have entered our solar system so far?
3I/ATLAS is a recently discovered interstellar comet, which is a visitor from another star system. It was discovered by the ATLAS survey and is the third interstellar object ever detected.
Invader Comet
Currently, the interstellar invader Comet 3I/ATLAS is surprising scientists by brightening at an unexpectedly rapid pace after it made a close pass to the sun. In response to the unexpected shine of the Comet, scientists are yet to know the reason after studying the object.
Solar system
3I/ATLAS is the third object which has entered our solar system from a different planetary system. The first was the cigar-shaped space-rock 'Oumuamua, discovered in October 2017 while passing through the solar system, and the first interstellar comet 2I/Borisov, witnessed in our stellar backyard in August 2019.
Oumuamua: 2017
'Oumuamua' was the first confirmed interstellar object to pass through our solar system, detected in 2017. It was initially classified as a comet but was reclassified as an interstellar asteroid because it showed no signs of cometary activity. Its unusual speed, cigar-like shape, and strange acceleration as it left the solar system have made it a subject of scientific intrigue, leading to theories ranging from a strange form of natural object to more speculative hypotheses.
2I/Borisov
2I/Borisov was the first interstellar comet and second object, discovered by amateur astronomer Gennadiy Borisov, which visited our solar system in August 2019. As an interstellar object, it originated from outside our solar system and entered it on a hyperbolic trajectory. Its high concentration of carbon monoxide suggested to the scientist that it was formed in a very cold environment, possibly near a red dwarf star.
3I/ATLAS
It is the second comet and the third object to pass through our solar system that scientists were able to confirm had originated from another star. Initially, it was first detected on July 1 by the Asteroid Terrestrial-Impact Last Alert System (ATLAS) survey telescope in Rio Hurtado, Chile. Currently, it is in the constellation of Virgo, at a distance of 342,366,985.7 kilometres from Earth.
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