The comet 3I/ATLAS is taking a long holiday journey this year. It's visiting from another solar system altogether.

It's the third interstellar object recorded passing through our solar system. Astronomer John Tonry says that, like the first interstellar comet in 2017, 3I/ATLAS has people wondering whether it came from alien technology.

Tonry was part of a team that created the NASA-funded Asteroid Terrestrial-impact Last Alert System . And while he's willing to bet his house this comet isn't an early holiday gift from aliens, he says it does offer astronomers the rare opportunity to study planets around stars beyond our sun.

"It's the only way we're ever going to get material from another solar system, I mean, certainly within our lifetimes."

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