Astronomers may be closing in on the age and origin of the interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS as it barrels toward the center of our solar system.
A new study that models the last 4 million years of the comet's journey through the Milky Way hints that the interstellar visitor came from far, far away — potentially originating from the wild frontier where the galaxy's oldest and youngest stars meet. If that's the case, the comet may be a relic of the early galaxy, dating billions of years older than Earth's sun.
