Space scientists say they are preparing a comet interceptor spaceship as the third interstellar object ever detected was spotted this week. A mysterious object the size of Manhattan was spotted by astronomers hurtling through our Solar System at extraordinary speed.

How do we know 3I/ATLAS, also called comet C/2025 N1 (ATLAS), is interstellar? Will it strike Earth? Can we visit it? Here are all of your questions answered.

Astronomers and space agencies continue to track the interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS streaking through solar system at blistering speeds

The European Space Agency (ESA) will launch its bold "Comet Interceptor" Mission after 3I/ATLAS became the third interstellar object ever spotted

Astronomers are scrambling to gather data on a mysterious object that’s currently hurtling through the solar system. Preliminary observations suggest it came from interstellar space, and if confirmed, it would mark the third discovery of an interstellar object in history.

The object gained an official name, C/2025 N1 or 3I/ATLAS, on Wednesday. Moving at a record-setting speed for an interstellar visitor, it is travelling along a curve but not in a closed loop – confirmation of its origins outside the Solar System. It will zoom past our Sun without being captured by its gravity.

Astronomers have confirmed the third interstellar object on record is dashing through our solar system. Dubbed 3I/ATLAS, it appears to be a comet and is thought to have flown in from the direction of the constellation Sagittarius,

NASA scientists have discovered a rare visitor from beyond our solar system, a new interstellar comet speeding by on a brief cosmic tour.

On July 1, 2025, a telescope in Chile detected something unexpected: a faint object streaking across the sky at an unusual speed and angle. Within hours, astronomers realized what they were seeing. This wasn’t a comet from the outer reaches of our own solar system,