Scientists have confirmed that 3I/ATLAS is only the third interstellar object ever detected passing through our Solar System. It was discovered by the ATLAS survey telescope in Chile in July 2025, and astronomers quickly identified it as a comet on a hyperbolic trajectory — meaning it isn't bound by the Sun's gravity and will soon exit our system.
According to the Planetary Society, 3I/ATLAS will reach its closest point to the Sun around 29 October 2025, but even then it will stay roughly 1.8 astronomical units (270 million km) from Earth. This distance makes it an interesting object to study, but not a dangerous one.
