Organized by: International Forensic Scientist Awards
Website: forensicscientist.org
12th Edition of Forensic Scientist Awards 29-30 July 2025 | New Delhi, India
🛰️ New images from the Vera C. Rubin Observatory have revealed that the alien comet 3I/ATLAS is approximately 7 miles (11.2 km) in diameter — making it the largest interstellar object (ISO) ever detected by astronomers.
Captured before the comet's official discovery, these high-resolution photos demonstrate the immense power of the newly activated Vera C. Rubin Observatory in Chile. The observatory’s cutting-edge camera, the world’s largest digital optical imager, is already breaking records before even beginning its formal 10-year Legacy Survey of Space and Time (LSST).
🌠 What Is 3I/ATLAS?
Discovered on July 1, 2025, 3I/ATLAS is an interstellar comet barrelling toward the Sun at a staggering 130,000 mph (210,000 km/h). Within 24 hours, NASA confirmed it as the third-ever ISO, after 1I/‘Oumuamua (2017) and 2I/Borisov (2019). This space traveler may be up to 3 billion years older than Earth, potentially making it the oldest comet ever observed.
🔬 Size Confirmed: 7-Mile-Wide Nucleus
Previously, only the coma (the dusty, gaseous cloud enveloping the comet) was observable — up to 15 miles (24 km) across. Now, according to a new preprint study (July 17 on arXiv) by over 200 scientists, early Rubin data has confirmed that the comet’s icy nucleus is about 7 miles wide, with a margin of error of 0.4 mile.
☄️ What Makes It Special?
3I/ATLAS dwarfs previous ISOs — 1I/'Oumuamua (~0.2 miles wide) and 2I/Borisov (~0.6 miles wide).
It contains massive amounts of dust and water ice, reinforcing that it is a natural comet — not an alien spacecraft, despite fringe theories circulating in recent weeks.
The Rubin Observatory’s early imaging further solidifies its role as a game-changer in interstellar detection and planetary defense.
🧠 Conclusion
The discovery and imaging of 3I/ATLAS marks a monumental leap in our understanding of interstellar visitors. As the Rubin Observatory begins its full-scale mission, we may be entering a golden era of ISO exploration — rewriting what we know about other star systems and ancient cosmic wanderers.
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