Overview

• Observations confirm 3I/ATLAS has an active coma but no visible tail due to its specific viewing geometry and low dust production, according to Toni Santana-Ros’s team.
• Avi Loeb assigns the object a six on his 1–10 Loeb scale for potential artificial origin, citing its unusual trajectory and morphology as indicators.
• Models estimate 3I/ATLAS is up to seven billion years old and likely originated from the Milky Way’s thick disk before entering the Solar System on a hyperbolic path.
• 3I/ATLAS is traveling at roughly 61 kilometers per second toward perihelion on October 29 and its closest approach to Earth on December 29 at about 270 million kilometers.
• If approved, Juno would perform a Jupiter Oberth maneuver on September 9, 2025, to reposition for a potential flyby of 3I/ATLAS around March 14, 2026.