CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — A rogue comet from another star passed by Earth this week for one last hurray before flying back into interstellar space.
The comet, 3I/Atlas, which was discovered over the summer, will pass within 167 million miles (269 million kilometers) of Earth on Friday, its closest approach to Earth on its tour of the solar system.
NASA continues to train its space telescope on the visiting ice ball, estimating its size to be between 1,444 feet (440 meters) and 3.5 miles (5.6 kilometers). But it fades away as it leaves, so now is the time for backyard astronomers to catch it in the night sky with telescopes.
In March, the comet will get even closer to Jupiter, moving rapidly within 33 million miles (53 million kilometers). Paul Chodas, director of NASA’s Center for Near-Earth Object Studies, said it will reach interstellar space in the mid-2030s and never return.
It is the third interstellar object known to have passed through the solar system. Interstellar comets like 3I/Atlas originate from star systems elsewhere in the Milky Way, while native comets like Halley’s Comet originate from the icy edges of the solar system.
A telescope in Hawaii discovered the first confirmed interstellar visitor in 2017. Two years later, amateur astronomers in Crimea discovered an interstellar comet. NASA’s Skywatching Atlas telescope in Chile discovered Comet 3I/Atlas in July while searching for potentially hazardous asteroids.
Scientists believe the latest intruding comet is also harmless and may have originated from a star system much older than our own, making it a tempting target.
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