Is it aliens? Why that's the least important question about interstellar objects
On October 29, Comet 3I/ATLAS reached its closest point to the sun.
Astronomy
Nov 3, 2025
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Page 5: Research news on Interstellar objects
Interstellar objects as a research area focus on the detection, characterization, and dynamical analysis of solid bodies that originate outside a planetary system and traverse or enter another, such as the Solar System. This field integrates observational astronomy, celestial mechanics, planetary science, and astrochemistry to constrain their trajectories, compositions, sizes, shapes, rotational states, and possible formation environments. Research investigates their implications for planetesimal formation, mass loss from planetary systems, galactic dynamical processes, and the transfer of material between stellar systems, as well as optimizing observational strategies and instrumentation for their rapid identification and follow-up before they exit observational reach.
Rapid brightening of interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS as it nears sun surprises scientists
An interstellar comet that originated outside our solar system has just made its closest pass to the sun, brightening dramatically and rapidly as it did so. The reason for the sudden extreme activity is currently puzzling ...
Mini-Neptune exoplanet orbiting bright K-type star discovered with TESS
Using NASA's Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS), an international team of astronomers have detected a new exoplanet orbiting a bright K-type star known as TOI-283. The newfound alien world, which received the designation ...
Hera and Europa Clipper will pass through 3I/ATLAS' tail
All sorts of crazy things have been suggested regarding 3I/ATLAS, the third known interstellar object that we've discovered. Some are simply conspiracy theories about it being an alien spacecraft, while others have been well-thought-out ...
Planetary Sciences
Oct 21, 2025
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ESA's Mars Express and ExoMars orbiters catch a glimpse of 3I/ATLAS
The interstellar object 3I/ATLAS has been something of a mystery ever since it graced our solar system. From all outward appearances, the object appears to be a comet that originated in another star system and was ejected ...
Astronomy
Oct 13, 2025
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Physicists detect water's ultraviolet fingerprint in interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS
For millions of years, a fragment of ice and dust drifted between the stars—like a sealed bottle cast into the cosmic ocean. This summer, that bottle finally washed ashore in our solar system and was designated 3I/ATLAS, ...
Astrobiology
Oct 7, 2025
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3I/ATLAS's coma proves another cometary formation theory
Interstellar visitor 3I/ATLAS has been constantly changing as it makes its way through our solar system. That's to be expected, as, for the first time in potentially billions of years, it's getting close to the energy put ...
Planetary Sciences
Oct 6, 2025
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Interstellar comet swinging past Mars as a fleet of spacecraft looks on
A comet from another star system will swing by Mars on Friday as a fleet of spacecraft trains its sights on the interstellar visitor.
Space Exploration
Oct 2, 2025
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A spacecraft could explore 3I/ATLAS to learn more about 'cosmic noon'
The period known as "cosmic noon," which took place roughly 2 to 3 billion years after the Big Bang, was characterized by the rapid formation of new stars and planetary systems. Naturally, objects dated to this period are ...
Planetary Sciences
Sep 16, 2025
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Where did the interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS come from?
Comet 3I/ATLAS is the third ISO ever detected. It was discovered by the Asteroid Terrestrial-impact Last Alert System (ATLAS) station on 1 July 2025. It's traveling through the inner solar system at about 220,000 km/h and ...
Planetary Sciences
Sep 12, 2025
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