The sudden appearance of an object hurtling through our Solar System that didn't belong here instantly set the astronomical community abuzz. Since the famous fly-by of 'Oumuamua, the possibility of detecting an interstellar visitor — and the wilder speculation of an artificial one — has fuelled intense monitoring efforts globally.
On July 1, 2025, a new celestial speedster was detected by NASA's ATLAS telescope in Chile, moving at a blistering pace of around 137,000 miles per hour (221,000 kilometres per hour) and quickly garnering the attention of over 20 spacecraft and major observatories, including the Hubble Space Telescope and the James Webb Space Telescope.
