Mystery Interstellar Comet May Be Oldest Ever Seen

A newly discovered interstellar visitor, named 3I/ATLAS, could be the oldest comet ever recorded—potentially over seven billion years old, scientists say.

Spotted just last week by the ATLAS telescope in Chile, 3I/ATLAS is only the third known object from outside our solar system. But unlike its predecessors, it’s coming from a remote part of the Milky Way’s “thick disk,” home to ancient stars.

“This comet might predate our solar system by more than three billion years,” said University of Oxford astronomer Matthew Hopkins. “It’s likely the oldest comet we’ve ever seen.”

Early observations show 3I/ATLAS is active, glowing with a bright coma and tail as it heats up near the Sun. It may also be bigger than the previous interstellar visitors, 1I/‘Oumuamua (2017) and 2I/Borisov (2019).

The discovery surprised scientists who were preparing for new telescope surveys expected to find many such objects soon. The Vera C. Rubin Observatory, launching soon, could detect dozens more.

“We’re entering an exciting era for interstellar discoveries,” said co-author Dr Michele Bannister. “Big telescopes worldwide are already watching 3I/ATLAS closely.”

Amateur astronomers may get a chance to see this ancient wanderer through telescopes later this year and into 2026.