Interstellar Comet 3I/ATLAS Makes Closest Approach to Earth
MerahPutih.com – The world of astronomy is paying great attention to interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS, a rare object that has just passed its closest phase to Earth.
This comet is not just an ordinary visitor. It comes from outside the solar system and brings material from the Milky Way Galaxy region which is much older than our solar system.
According to observation data, 3I/ATLAS reached its closest distance to Earth of about 270 million kilometers, a safe distance but close enough to allow deep observations using ground telescopes and space missions.
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What is Interstellar Comet 3I/ATLAS?
3I/ATLAS is the third interstellar object ever detected within the solar system. Previously, scientists only knew of two similar guests: ‘Oumuamua (2017) and 2I/Borisov (2019).
This discovery confirms that interstellar space is not “empty,” but is filled with the remains of material that formed stars and planets.
This comet was first detected on July 1, 2025, by the Asteroid Terrestrial-impact Last Alert System (NASA‘s ATLAS).
From its orbital trajectory, researchers immediately concluded that 3I/ATLAS was not bound by the Sun’s gravity and came from outside the solar system.
Orbital dynamics analysis shows that 3I/ATLAS likely originated from the “thick disk” of the Milky Way Galaxy, a region of stars that formed earlier than the thin disk where the Sun is located.
this means that this comet is estimated to be up to 7 billion years old, far exceeding the age of the solar system which is around 4.6 billion years.
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