Interstellar object makes once-in-a-lifetime pass

3I/ATLAS is unusually fast, with an extremely unusual trajectory

- BY JAY HILOTIN Senior Assistant Editor

An unusually comet has entered the Solar system. It poses no harm to Earth, say astronomers.

That’s the good news.

Then one astronomer has made an outrageous claim: It is, quite possibly, an alien probe.

Harvard expert Avi Loeb argues there’s more to it than just a celestial object or an unusual interstellar visitor.

The reason: the object is moving “unusually fast”, and “at an extremely unusual” path.

3I/ATLAS was discovered by Nasa’s ATLAS (Asteroid Terrestrial-impact Last Alert System) telescope in Rio Hurtado, Chile, on July 1, 2025.

It was initially spotted careening toward the inner solar system from the direction of Sagittarius.

3I/ATLAS, also known as C/2025 N1, is classified as a newly discovered “interstellar” system — meaning, it originated from outside our solar system.It is only