what exactly is 3i atlas
CYSF · 2026 Bronze Medal
Overview
I have decided to do a research project on the comet 3i atlas because the scientists at NASA don't exactly know whats going on with this strange object in space.
Problem
The only problem that we have with 3i atlas is that we don't know what it is exactly. scientists have so far categorized it as an interstellar object and are doing further research into it.
Method
we started off by working on the cysf finishing a couple sections. for a while we planned and worked on our trifold drew pictures to create an idea where everything should be. we worked on our docs for our poster. we decorated it and it made it look neat
Research
⁃ icy nucleus and coma
⁃ Will leave our solar system at the same speed it came into the solar system
⁃ Has lots of nickel and no iron
⁃ The coma is made up of c2 molecules
⁃ Called hyperbolic trajectory which means it won’t be affected be the sun’s gravitational pull
⁃ Moving to fast for the sun’s gravity so it won’t be pulled into orbit
⁃ Passed by mars, earth and Venus when entering the solar system
⁃ Interstellar space object discovery on July 1 2025
⁃ No threat to earth or any other planets
Data
Nucleus is no less than 1400 feet (440 meters).No greater than 3.5 miles (5.6 meters) and it is Travelling at 221,000 kilometres per hour. It was discovered on NASA's Hubble telescope and it has a hyperbolic trajectery meaning it does not get affected by the suns gravitational pull.
Conclusion
Me and my partner have reaserched and we found a conclusion of what 3i ATLAS is. We have discovered that 3i ATLAS is an interstellar object that has many weird things about it, but even though some may think 3i ATLAS is most likely just a comet
Citations
On July 1, the NASA-funded ATLAS (Asteroid Terrestrial-impact Last Alert System) survey telescope in Rio Hurtado, Chile, first reported observations of a comet that originated from interstellar space. We give credit to NASA for our information and we also got some theories from avi loeb who is a proffeser at harverd.
Acknowledgement
Me and my partner have acknowledged that we gathered information from the NASA website and a bit from Avi Loeb who is a proffeser at the University of Harvard. We also used another website called space.com for more information.
Awards (1)
Competition history
- CYSF 2026
Resources
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Source: Calgary Youth Science Fair