Astronomers using ESO’s Very Large Telescope (VLT) have captured new images of 3I/ATLAS, the third interstellar object ever observed.
This VLT/FORS2 image, taken on July 3, 2025, shows the interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS. Image credit: ESO / O. Hainaut.
3I/ATLAS was discovered a week ago by the NASA-funded ATLAS survey telescope in Rio Hurtado, Chile.
Also known as C/2025 N1 (ATLAS) and A11pl3Z, the comet is arriving from the direction of the constellation Sagittarius.
“Its highly eccentric hyperbolic orbit, unlike that of objects in the Solar System, gave away its interstellar origin,” ESO astronomers said in a statement.
3I/ATLAS is currently about 4.5 AU (670 million km, or 416 million miles) from the Sun.
The interstellar object poses no threat to Earth and will remain at a distance of at least 1.6 AU (240 million km, or 150 million miles).
It will reach its closest approach to the Sun around October 30, 2025, at a distance of 1.4 AU (210 million km, or 130 million miles) — just inside the orbit of Mars.
“In the VLT timelapse, 3I/ATLAS is seen moving to the right over the course of about 13 minutes,” the astronomers said.
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