Corey S Powellcoreyspowell@mastodon.social

Jul 14, 2025, 5:18 AM

We have now seen three interstellar objects passing through the solar system--and each of them is distinctly different.

Comet 3I/ATLAS is by far the biggest, fastest & oldest. It's probably older than our solar system, making it the most ancient object we've ever seen up close.

https://bigthink.com/starts-with-a-bang/third-interstellar-object-3i-atlas/ #space #science #astronomy #nature

In this VLT time-lapse video, 3I/ATLAS is seen moving to the right over the course of about 13 minutes. These data were obtained with the FORS2 instrument on the VLT on the night of 3 July 2025, just two days after the comet was first discovered. The data were made immediately public through the ESO archive.