{"id":13084,"date":"2025-07-22T09:51:05","date_gmt":"2025-07-22T09:51:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/13084\/"},"modified":"2025-07-22T09:51:05","modified_gmt":"2025-07-22T09:51:05","slug":"an-interstellar-visitor-could-soon-be-visible-to-the-naked-eye-in-the-night-sky","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/13084\/","title":{"rendered":"An interstellar visitor could soon be visible to the naked eye in the night sky"},"content":{"rendered":"

\t\t\"An<\/a>An image showing an object with a tail behind it. (Image source: Robert Lea – Canva)<\/p>\n

The interstellar object 3I\/ATLAS is currently crossing our solar system at high speed. And it could well be visible to the naked eye as it passes.<\/p>\n

A few days ago, an interstellar visitor was spotted in our solar system<\/a>. And as observations continue, astronomers believe it could become visible to the naked eye as it passes close to the Sun. <\/p>\n

Named 3I\/ATLAS<\/a>, it could well be one of the oldest objects ever observed by mankind. Estimates put its age at around three billion years, and its speed at a staggering 210,000 km per hour. As for its origin, scientists and astronomers believe that it can be traced back to a different region of the Milky Way<\/a> than the one we’re in now. <\/p>\n

More precisely, studies have been carried out using a computer model developed and updated by researchers at Oxford University<\/a>. This software is fed by data from the Gaia space observatory<\/a>, making it possible to define an origin located in the \u201cthick disk\u201d of our galaxy, a place where many ancient stars were formed. <\/p>\n

But it’s its composition that has scientists intrigued. This interstellar object is rich in water ice. And this could lead to the appearance of a tail when it comes close to the Sun<\/a>, due to its vaporization by solar rays. And needless to say, this would be observable with the naked eye, and a breathtaking sight to behold.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\t\"New<\/a>New simulations show the likely origin of 3I\/ATLAS in the Milky Way’s thick disk. (Image source: M. Hopkins\/\u014ctautahi-Oxford team)<\/p>\n

But while this may be the stuff of dreams, as was the case with comet C\/2020 F3 Neowise<\/a>, we must be cautious. Indeed, its trajectory is not yet defined with any great precision, although we do know that it will pass close to Mars<\/a>. Further observations are needed to determine its direction through our solar system<\/a>, and whether it will be able to put on a unique show for several days. <\/p>\n

Beyond this aspect, 3I\/ATLAS will enable scientists to better understand our universe and what’s going on outside the solar system. And there’s no doubt that future studies will come up with new answers, even if some grey areas will still remain.<\/p>\n

\"Alexis<\/a>Alexis Stegmann<\/a> – Tech Writer – 93 articles published on Notebookcheck since 2025<\/p>\n

I’ve been working in the field of web writing for several years, and I’m passionate about keeping readers up to date with the latest news on astronomy, technology, the world of video games and other exciting subjects. In particular, I’ve had the opportunity to work on a number of websites, which has enabled me to cover a wide range of subjects. In my personal life, I’m passionate about a wide range of subjects, including astronomy, video games, history and science. I’m also drawn to psychology, which is a subject that deserves greater documentation and recognition.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"An image showing an object with a tail behind it. (Image source: Robert Lea – Canva) The interstellar…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":13085,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[23],"tags":[14804,64,63,234,10474,14807,235,14801,227,14805,233,14803,226,14806,236,232,228,229,128,291,285,231,230,14802,14808],"class_list":["post-13084","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-space","tag-3i-atlas","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-benchmarks","tag-comet","tag-gaia","tag-graphics-card","tag-interstellar","tag-laptop","tag-milky-way","tag-netbook","tag-night-sky","tag-notebook","tag-oxford-university","tag-processor","tag-reports","tag-review","tag-reviews","tag-science","tag-solar-system","tag-space","tag-test","tag-tests","tag-visitor","tag-water-ice"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13084","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=13084"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13084\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/13085"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=13084"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=13084"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=13084"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}