The discovery of 3I/ATLAS, a mystery interstellar object, has sent shockwaves through the scientific community. This ancient visitor is likely to be the oldest comet ever seen, possibly predating our solar system by more than three billion years. According to University of Oxford astronomer Matthew Hopkins, 3I/ATLAS could be more than seven billion years old and may be the most remarkable interstellar visitor yet.

Unlike previous objects that entered our solar system from elsewhere in the cosmos, 3I/ATLAS appears to be traveling on a steep path through the galaxy. Its trajectory suggests it originated from the Milky Way’s ‘thick disk’ – a population of ancient stars orbiting above and below the thin plane where the Sun and most stars reside.

Hopkins explained that all non-interstellar comets, such as Halley’s comet, formed with our solar system and are up to 4.5 billion years old. However, interstellar visitors have the potential to be far older, and 3I/ATLAS is likely to be the oldest comet ever seen.

The object was first spotted on July 1, 2025, by the ATLAS survey telescope in Chile, when it was about 670 million kilometers from the Sun. As 3I/ATLAS approaches the Sun, sunlight will heat its surface and trigger cometary activity, or the outgassing of vapor and dust that creates a glowing coma and tail.

Early observations already suggest the comet is active, and possibly larger than either of its interstellar predecessors, 1I/’Oumuamua (spotted in 2017) and 2I/Borisov (2019). If confirmed, this could have implications for how many similar objects future telescopes, such as the new Vera C. Rubin Observatory, are likely to detect.

The discovery of 3I/ATLAS has sparked excitement among astronomers, who believe it may provide clues about the role that ancient interstellar comets play in seeding star and planet formation across the galaxy. As the comet continues on its journey towards the Sun, scientists will be closely monitoring its activity and behavior.

The Red Planet’s Hidden Past Revealed: Scientists Discover 15,000 Kilometers of Lost Rivers on Mars

A groundbreaking study has shed new light on Mars’ history, suggesting that the planet was once much wetter than previously thought. Led by PhD student Adam Losekoot and funded by the UK Space Agency, researchers have identified over 15,000 kilometers of ancient riverbeds in the Noachis Terra region of Mars’ southern highlands.

The discovery was made possible by analyzing fluvial sinuous ridges, also known as inverted channels, which are believed to have formed when sediment deposited by rivers hardened and was later exposed as the surrounding material eroded. These features have been found across various terrains on Mars, indicating that flowing water was once widespread in this region.

The new research focuses on fluvial sinuous ridges as an alternate form of evidence for ancient surface water, rather than relying on valley networks, which are branching erosional features that have traditionally been used to infer historical rainfall and runoff. The study’s findings indicate that surface water may have been stable in Noachis Terra during the Noachian-Hesperian transition, a period of geologic and climatic change around 3.7 billion years ago.

“This is an exciting discovery because it shows that Mars was once a much more complex and active planet than we thought,” said Losekoot. “Studying Mars, particularly an underexplored region like Noachis Terra, is really exciting because it’s an environment which has been largely unchanged for billions of years. It’s a time capsule that records fundamental geological processes in a way that just isn’t possible here on Earth.”

The researchers used data from three orbital instruments: the Context Camera (CTX), the Mars Orbiter Laser Altimeter (MOLA) and the High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE). These datasets allowed the team to map the locations, lengths, and morphologies of ridge systems across a wide area.

Many of the features appear as isolated ridge segments, while others form extensive interconnected systems. The spatial distribution and extent of these ridges suggest that they likely formed over a geologically significant period under relatively stable surface conditions.

“Our work is a new piece of evidence that suggests that Mars was once a much more complex and active planet than it is now,” said Losekoot. “The fact that the ridges form extensive interconnected systems suggests that the watery conditions must have been relatively long-lived, meaning Noachis Terra experienced warm and wet conditions for a geologically relevant period.”

These findings challenge existing theories that Mars was generally cold and dry, with a few valleys formed by ice-sheet meltwater in sporadic, short periods of warming. The discovery of ancient riverbeds on Mars provides new insights into the planet’s history and suggests that it may have been more similar to Earth than previously thought.

The study by scientists at UCL (University College London) and the University of Cambridge has revealed that “space ice” is not as disordered as previously assumed. The most common form of ice in the Universe, low-density amorphous ice, contains tiny crystals (about three nanometers wide) embedded within its disordered structures.

For decades, scientists have believed that ice in space is completely amorphous, with colder temperatures meaning it does not have enough energy to form crystals when it freezes. However, the researchers used computer simulations and experimental work to show that this is not entirely true.

They found that low-density amorphous ice contains a mixture of crystalline and amorphous regions, rather than being completely disordered. This has significant implications for our understanding of water and life in the Universe.

The findings also have implications for one speculative theory about how life on Earth began, known as Panspermia. According to this theory, the building blocks of life were carried here on an ice comet. However, the researchers’ discovery suggests that this ice would be a less good transport material for these origin of life molecules.

Lead author Dr Michael B. Davies said: “We now have a good idea of what the most common form of ice in the Universe looks like at an atomic level.” The study’s results raise many additional questions about the nature of amorphous ices, and its findings may hold the key to explaining some of water’s many anomalies.

Co-author Professor Christoph Salzmann said: “Ice on Earth is a cosmological curiosity due to our warm temperatures. Ice in the rest of the Universe has long been considered a snapshot of liquid water.” However, this study shows that this is not entirely true, and that ice can take on different forms depending on its origin.

The research team’s findings also raise questions about amorphous materials in general, which have important uses in advanced technology. For instance, glass fibers that transport data long distances need to be amorphous for their function. If they do contain tiny crystals and we can remove them, this will improve their performance.

In conclusion, the study has revealed that cosmic ice is more complex than previously thought, with tiny crystals hidden within its disordered structures. This has significant implications for our understanding of water and life in the Universe, and raises many additional questions about the nature of amorphous ices.