The third known interstellar object, 3I/Atlas, may be older than our Solar System

What does 3I/Atlas represent?

Interstellar Origin: 3I/Atlas is an object in a hyperbolic orbit, indicating that it originated from beyond our solar system and is not gravitationally tethered to the Sun.

Discovery: The Asteroid Terrestrial-impact Last Alert System (ATLAS) detected it in Río Hurtado, Chile, when it was approximately 670 million km from the Sun.

Main Characteristics of 3I/Atlas:

High Velocity: It travels at approximately 60 km/s — too swift to be captured by the Sun’s gravitational pull — affirming its interstellar characteristics.

Current Distance: The object is currently close to Jupiter’s orbit, approximately 917 million km away from Earth.

Earliest Recognized Comet: Researchers believe it is 7 billion years old, surpassing the 4.6-billion-year age of the Solar System.

Importance of 3I/Atlas:

Hints about Extraterrestrial Realms: Analyzing it could uncover the chemical and physical composition of far-off planetary systems.

Uncommon Interstellar Sample: It provides humans a direct link to exoplanetary substances, well before space travel enables such discoveries.

Expands on Previous Findings: It comes after 1I/ʻOumuamua (2017) and 2I/Borisov (2019), the only recognized interstellar travelers to date.

How Researchers Verify It’s From Interstellar?

Orbit Calculation: Its open hyperbolic path does not feature a returning aphelion, in contrast to native solar system bodies that follow elliptical trajectories.

Initial Velocity: Its rapid approach speed from a long distance indicates it didn’t gain speed here — it arrived quickly, already in motion from another system.