Imagine hurtling through space at 58 kilometres per second, a cosmic intruder from another star system brushing past Earth like a fleeting shadow, defying everything we thought we knew about such visitors. That's 3I/ATLAS for you, the third confirmed interstellar comet to grace our solar system, and its quirks are forcing astronomers to rethink how we spot and track potential threats from the void.
As it speeds away after its closest shave with us on Dec. 19, 2025, at 270 million kilometres distant – nearly twice the Earth–sun separation – the real stakes hit home with asteroid 99942 Apophis looming on the horizon for 2029.
