The mystical object 3I/ATLAS, which some have taken for an alien ship, has come almost close to the inner planets of our solar system. Already today it is approaching to the minimum distance from Mars. The movement of the object is observed by an army of ESA and NASA spacecraft.

 The mysterious interstellar object 3I/ATLAS (C/2025 N1), discovered on 1 July 2025, is now almost close to the inner planets of our solar system. According to the calculations of experts, already today, 3 October, it will approach the minimum distance to Mars and fly only 28 million km.

After this, the object will remain in our system for some time before leaving it.

Today, an army of spacecraft has deployed their cameras on the interstellar visitor to obtain the clearest images of this celestial body. The new images will help to better explain the nature of the mysterious object, which became a real sensation in just a few months.

Why 3I/ATLAS gets so much attention and how close it will fly past our planet.

Facts about the comet

Size: from a few hundred meters to several kilometers across.

Speed: approximately 210,000 km/h - the highest ever recorded for visitors to the solar system.

Age: billions of years (some estimates are around seven billion) - this is indicated by its enormous speed, evidence that it has been travelling in space for a very long time.

Later, on 9-10 October, 3I/ATLAS will cross the orbit of the Red Planet and the 29th day will pass at a minimum distance from the Sun of about 200 million km. Then it will begin to fly out of the solar system.

On 3 November, the space object will be as close to Venus as possible. The distance will be about 100 million km.

3I/ATLAS does not plan to fly close to Earth. In addition, at the moment of the body’s approach to the Sun, our planet will be on the opposite side of its orbit. Thus, at this point you can neither observe the interstellar guest’s flight nor study it from Earth. The minimum distance between the object and the planet will only be reached on 19 December, and will be about 260 million km, that is, it will be almost twice as far as the Sun.

World Astronomers follow 3I/ATLAS

Scientists are now using the ability to track 3I/ATLAS in real time from outside our planet with ESA and NASA mission vehicles, which will be able to continue observing the comet even when it leaves the Earth’s range.

Since the beginning of observations of an interstellar object, its characteristics have surprised scientists more than once.

Composition. James Webb’s telescope recorded the presence of carbon dioxide, water, carbon monoxide and water ice. At that moment, the main discovery was the discovery of «gasification»: 3I/ATLAS found a record ratio of carbon dioxide to water, nothing like this had previously been observed in such facilities.

Later it turned out that the chemical composition is generally similar to the composition of comets born in our solar system. However, the fact that 3I/ATLAS is rich in carbon dioxide and contains less water than most local objects may indicate that it formed far from its parent star, explained Matthew Genge, a planetologist at Imperial College London.

It was also reported that the Very Large Telescope (VLT) in Chile found nickel but not iron in 3I/ATLAS, indicating a previously unknown chemical process.

However, the unusual - and not yet fully studied - characteristics of the object are expected to give rise to the most incredible theories.

The speed of a celestial body. 3I/ATLAS is moving through our solar system at a staggering speed - about 209,000 km/hour. This is the highest speed ever recorded for such a «stranger».

The 3I/ATLAS will also be able to capture NASA’s Psyche mission, which is en route to asteroid 16 Psychedes, and NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, which uses the latest HiRISE camera to obtain the most accurate images of this object.

Later, from 2 to 25 November, the ESA mission Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer (Juice) will join the observations by directing its instruments on the interstellar alien. These observations will begin as soon as the object reaches perihelion - the point of greatest proximity to the Sun. This point is particularly important because the heat of a fiery star turns the comet into its most active phase: ice from the body’s surface evaporates and erupts into space. Its core will be enveloped by a luminous shell of gas and dust, and behind it will stretch a long tail. At this time, astronomers will be able to identify the complete chemical composition of the emitted substances by obtaining a unique «print» 3I/ATLAS.

Harvard astrophysicist Avi Leb stood out, who throughout time has maintained that scientists today are observing not a comet, but something created by an alien civilization. He said in particular that:

The celestial body can actually be disguised by extraterrestrial technology. According to him, the trajectory, size and «behavior» of the object showed this.

3I/ATLAS looks like it emits light itself - like a car with headlights on. According to Lev’s theory, it could be a nuclear-powered spacecraft.

«Nickel» data is a new anomaly. Leb recalled that in natural comets iron and nickel are usually present at the same time. But the new information may indicate a possible technological origin of the object.