3I/ATLAS

This little blur of light is 3I/ATLAS – only the third interstellar object ever seen passing through our Solar System.

Unlike “normal” comets that were born with the Sun, 3I/ATLAS comes from another star system entirely. It was likely thrown out by some distant planet millions (or billions) of years ago, drifted through the darkness between the stars, and is now briefly cutting across our sky before it disappears back into interstellar space.

What you see here is its coma and faint tail, shaped by our Sun even though it doesn’t really belong to our planetary system. This exact object will never return, which is what makes it feel a bit like a once-in-a-lifetime visitor.