[Space] The Hubble Space Telescope has caught its first glimpse of comet 3I/ATLAS. The comet is just the third object humanity has observed entering the solar system from beyond its limits.
Prior to 3I/ATLAS, the previous two "interstellar invaders" were 1I/'Oumuamua, spotted in 2017, and 2I/Borisov, detected in 2019. Both have now left the solar system, though other interstellar bodies are predicted to dwell undetected in our cosmic backyard [3I/ATLAS is much bigger than either of the previous two - it may come within 15 million miles of Mars and 100 million miles of earth].
As Space.com reported on July 11, recent research suggested that 3I/ATLAS could be even more exciting than initially perceived, as its trajectory through the solar system indicates it comes from a region of the Milky Way older than our 4.6 billion-year-old solar system. With an estimated age of 7 billion years [thus mostly made of H and He], that would make 3I/ATLAS the oldest comet we've ever seen. |