Interstellar visitor 3I/ATLAS sparks interest as a ‘Black Swan’ in space

3I/ATLAS Might Be Rare “Black Swan” in Cosmic Terms (Image: International Gemini Observatory/NOIRLab/NSF/AURA)

The scientists have verified the presence of 3I/ATLAS, a space object which is believed to have come outside our Solar System. It is the third object of the kind to have been detected. Researchers are already referring to it as a possible permanent "black swan event". This term is used to refer to a very rare and high-impact.

When and where?

In 2025, ATLAS survey found the object. It is currently approximately 350 million km distant in space. It will come closest to the Sun on 29th October. It will go far away out of Earth. This comet will cause no harm to the planet.

The Black Swan Event

Scientists are calling the interstellar visitor 3I/ATLAS a real Black Swan event. Black Swan is the term used in reference to a highly unlikely and unforeseeable occurrence that has significant implications.

In case of 3I/ATLAS, it is used by scientists as the hyperbolic orbit, unfamiliar trajectory along the ecliptic and disproportionate structure are quite out of places as far as interstellar objects are concerned.

What did scientists observe?

Hubble Space Telescope and ground-based telescopes observation has revealed a diffuse coma (cloud of gas and dust) and early formation of a tail meaning that ices are actively sublimating as it becomes nearer to the Sun.

Spectroscopy indicates strangely large amounts of carbon dioxide in comparison with water. The indications of the presence of heavier isotopes suggests that they were formed in a colder, alien environment.

What's next?

This occurrence provides scientists with an opportunity to examine material that has been formed in other star systems. Once 3I/ATLAS approaches the Sun and then leaves the Solar System, this event could be studied with a scientific approach.

This event is a naturally occurring interstellar object and it require a more radical explanation. The legacy it leaves could help change our perception of extrasolar visitors.