Is the solar system an interstellar highway, with cosmic objects speeding past at warp speeds without human notice? That’s the question that’s been put in the limelight by the recent discovery of 3I/ATLAS,

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,

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.