Scientists have been racing to discover the origins of 3I/Atlas since it was spotted last week.

A renowned physicist believes he's cracked the mystery of where a giant unidentified object hurtling through our solar system came from.

As 3I/ATLAS approaches the sun, astronomers expect its frozen ices to sublimate, releasing gas and forming a glowing coma and tail—the signature features of a comet.

July 11 (UPI) -- Scientists believe an interstellar comet discovered earlier this month could be one of the oldest that astronomers have ever encountered.

The object seems to be travelling on a steep path - suggesting it came from the Milky Way's "thick disk", an area of ancient stars that orbits above and below the thin plane where most stars reside.

When the news started to spread on July 1, 2025, about a new object that was spotted from outside our solar system, only the third of its kind ever known, astronomers at Michigan State University—along ...