Officially named 3I/ATLAS, the comet was confirmed as having originated outside of Earth's solar system on July 3, according to the European Space Agency (ESA) and NASA. It is believed to be about 20 kilometers, or over 12 miles wide, according to the ESA and traveling at about 60 kilometers, or 37 miles per second relative to the sun.

A comet the size of Manhattan has been detected hurtling through the solar system, marking only the third time an interstellar object has been observed from Earth. This was confirm

The newly discovered interstellar visitor is just the third of its kind and fascinates astronomers who hope to learn from it about galaxies far, far away.