The space rock 3I/ATLAS is only the third confirmed interstellar object discovered by astronomers, following 'Oumuamua and the comet Borisov. While astronomers are still busily collecting data on the new discovery,

I/ATLAS Interstellar Comet or Alien Spacecraft? The interstellar object 3I/ATLAS was recently discovered traveling through the solar system. While most scientists classify it as a comet, Harvard astrophysicist Avi Loeb has proposed a theory that it could be alien technology.

Professor Avi Loeb said there are clear signs that the comet known as "3I/ATLAS" could be an alien craft. "We should put all possibilities on the table that it's a rock, a comet, or something else until we get the evidence, the data that will tell us what it is," Loeb said in an interview with WBZ-TV's Courtney Cole.

You can watch comet 3I/ATLAS live online tonight (July 3), thanks to the Virtual Telescope Project, which will livestream views beginning at 6:00 p.m. EDT (2200 GMT). The feed will showcase imagery from telescopes in Manciano, Italy, weather permitting. Tune in via Virtual Telescope's WebTV, YouTube channel or here on Space.com.

Comet 3I/ATLAS was first identified by the Asteroid Terrestrial-impact Last Alert System (ATLAS), a global network of four robotic telescopes located in Hawaii, Chile, and South Africa. ATLAS systematically surveys nearly the entire night sky every 24 hours, primarily searching for near-Earth objects that could pose a risk of impact.

A newly discovered object in space was spotted about two weeks ago by a telescope in Chile. It's traveling at 135,000 miles per hour, which is too fast to originate from our solar system.