Planet Earth's asteroid dectectors
The secret is out about the discovery of a massive interstellar space rock, first detected in the night sky on July 1, 2025, by an ATLAS survey telescope in Chile. The rock, designated 3I/ATLAS, is currently screaming through our solar system at an incredible 130,000 miles per hour. Hello, again, Ken Baxter, Rocketman, coming to from beautiful, Las Vegas, Nevada and thanks for visiting my blog. Having a passion for space and unexplored frontiers, this story naturally caught my eye.
This is not the first interstellar visitor to be discovered in our solar system. Since 2017, the Milky Way has had two space rocks pass through our galaxy, but there’s more to this one than meets the eye. The Chilean telescope that spotted it is part of the ATLAS survey program, (short for Asteroid Terrestrial-impact, Last Alert System). There are currently 4 operating observatories; 2 in Hawaii, 1 In South Africa and 1 in Chile, whose mission is to detect small asteroids on earth-impact trajectories. In the process, they often discover comets as well. As for the designation, “3I” means this is the third interstellar object ever discovered, while the “I” stands for Interstellar; a reminder that it’s not from around here.
An Entirely different animal
As more details emerge about 3I/ATLAS, I am hesitant to call it a comet; though many experts would disagree. Several characteristics of this seem to break all the rules, including:
Its Size: Estimates place 3I/Atlas between 2 and 12 miles in diameter.
It’s Age: Scientists estimate it to be 7 billion years old; making this ancient traveler older than our solar system itself.
Its Composition: Unlike most comets, which contain large amounts of H2O that vaporize near the sun, to produce their signature tails, Atlas is unusually rich in carbon dioxide. Its CO-2 to H2O ratio is estimated at 8:1, the highest ever recorded for a comet
Its trajectory and speed: comets in our solar system generally have elliptical orbits, bound to the sun, with eccentricity values near 1 Atlas, by contrast has an eccentricity between 6.0-6.3, placing it on a sharply hyperbolic path. It is traveling so fast; 58 kilometers per second, (over 130,000 miles per hour) that the sun’s gravity cannot capture it.
a ship or a comet?
3I/ATLAS, as its name indicates, is the third interstellar object discovered in our solar system since 2017. What’s especially intriguing is each one seems larger than the last.
- In 2017, ‘1I Oumuamua, a much smaller, rectangular object, 300-600 meters long, surprised scientists and slipped away before it could be studied in detail.
- In 2019, another rogue visitor, 2I/Borisov, estimated to be between 1-10 miles in diameter, entered our solar system but never passed close enough to get precise measurements.
- In 2025, we have 3I/ATLAS, a chemically exotic giant, estimated at between 2-12 miles in diameter with a hyperbolic trajectory that is off the charts.
One of the strangest aspects of Atlas is its timing. Just as it entered our neighborhood, the skies treated us to rare planetary alignment of 6 worlds; Mercury, Venus, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune; an event we won’t see again until 2028. Harvard Scientist Avi Loeb suggests “3I/Atlas could have arrived at any given time and there is a chance of 1 in 20,000 for it to arrive as close as it does to Mercury, Venus and Jupiter”. The coincidence has sparked all kinds of speculation; some have suggested that the original, Oumuamua might have been the scout, and 3I/ATLAS may be the probe. Others have argued we may be witnessing the revelation of ancient, alien technology…or an alien craft. There is no definitive proof but it’s a thought-provoking theory. Our universe is so vast, it’s hard to imagine we are the only ones here.
I’m Ken Baxter, Rocketman, signing off and thank you again for stopping by. Don’t forget to visit KenBaxter.com, WeThePeople.com, or GreenGlobal.org for additional updates and interesting content. I hope to see you again real soon!
