While 31/ATLAS continues to fascinate scientists as an Interstellar comet discovered using the Atacama Large Millimeter Array, aka ALMA. In the meantime, the Earth experienced a separate—and startling—series of close encounters with much smaller space visitors.
Together, these events happen in the unpredictable cosmic neighborhood.
Interstellar Comet Takes Center Stage
Unlike nearby asteroids, 31/ATLAS originated around another star entirely. Observations from ALMA revealed that this interstellar comet contains unusually high levels of methanol and hydrogen cyanide—key molecules involved in the chemistry that leads to life.
“Molecules like hydrogen cyanide and methanol are at trace abundances in our own comets,” NASA astrochemist Martin Cordiner said. “In this alien comet, they’re very abundant.”
These discoveries are helping astronomers compare the chemistry of distant planetary systems with our own.
31/ATLAS A Near Miss No One Saw Coming
As scientists tracked 31/ATLAS, Earth had its own surprise. On Oct. 1, a small asteroid named 2025 TF passed just 266 miles above Antarctica—lower than the orbit of many satellites. Shockingly, it wasn’t discovered until hours after it had already flown by.
