A third interstellar object has been discovered in the Solar System

Astronomers have recorded the discovery of a third interstellar object in the Solar System, according to data from the Minor Planet Center.

"The new near-Earth object candidate A11pl3Z was discovered by the ATLAS observatory in Chile," the message states.

The data indicates that the object was detected in four images taken on July 1. Scientists have given it another name - 3I/Atlas. They will also conduct additional observations to clarify its orbit.

"Preliminary reports of cometary activity with a slight coma (a hazy envelope around the comet's nucleus - IF) and a short 3-inch tail at a position angle of 280 degrees are coming in," the message notes. According to official data, two similar objects were previously known: 1I/Oumuamua, discovered in 2017, and comet 2I/Borisov, discovered in 2019-2020.

An interstellar object is an object that is in interstellar space and has no gravitational connection to any star.

NASA reported that the comet poses no threat to Earth and will remain at a distance of about 240 million km.

"It is currently at a distance of about 4.5 astronomical units (about 416 million miles or 670 million km) from the Sun," the message states.