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3I/ATLAS, also known as C/2025 N1 (ATLAS) and formerly designated as A11pl3Z, is an iinterstellar comet. It was discovered by the Asteroid Terrestrial-impact Last Alert System (ATLAS) station at Río Hurtado, Chile on 1 July 2025.
Note: it was mentioned (as A11pl3Z) by DaveE in a new member's introductory thread.
https://earthsky.org/space/new-interstellar-object-candidate-heading-toward-the-sun-a11pl3z/
One source mentions the comet traveling at 68 km/sec, or 244.8 km/hr! The Wikipedia article indicates speed at perihelion of 68.3 km/sec.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/3I/ATLAS
It will pass between the orbits of earth and Mars, with the Comet's trajectory projection on the ecliptic intersection the orbit of Mars twice.
https://science.nasa.gov/solar-system/comets/3i-atlas/
Note: it was mentioned (as A11pl3Z) by DaveE in a new member's introductory thread.
missile = comet, I guess?
https://earthsky.org/space/new-interstellar-object-candidate-heading-toward-the-sun-a11pl3z/
https://earthsky.org/space/new-interstellar-object-candidate-heading-toward-the-sun-a11pl3z/
One source mentions the comet traveling at 68 km/sec, or 244.8 km/hr! The Wikipedia article indicates speed at perihelion of 68.3 km/sec.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/3I/ATLAS
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/3I/ATLAS#Discoverythe newly discovered object was entering the inner Solar System at a speed of 61 km/s (140,000 mph; 220,000 km/h) relative to the Sun, located 3.50 AU (524 million km; 325 million mi) from Earth and 4.51 AU from the Sun, and was moving in the sky along the border of the constellations Serpens Cauda and Sagittarius, near the galactic plane.
It will pass between the orbits of earth and Mars, with the Comet's trajectory projection on the ecliptic intersection the orbit of Mars twice.
https://science.nasa.gov/solar-system/comets/3i-atlas/
Comet 3I/ATLAS poses no threat to Earth and will remain far away. The closest it will approach our planet is about 1.8 astronomical units (about 170 million miles, or 270 million kilometers). 3I/ATLAS will reach its closest point to the Sun around Oct. 30, 2025, at a distance of about 1.4 au (130 million miles, or 210 million kilometers) — just inside the orbit of Mars.