Why Experts Are Racing To Learn About This Interstellar Comet

The comet 3I/ATLAS is taking a long holiday journey this year. It’s visiting from another solar system altogether. Those interstellar origins have the Internet rumor mill questioning whether 3I/ATLAS came from aliens. Co-hosts Emily Kwong and Regina G. Barber dive into that, plus what it and other interstellar comets can tell us about planets beyond our solar system.


Read more of NPR’s coverage of 3I/ATLAS. Also, if you liked this episode, check out our episodes on:

- the physics in the film Interstellar

- why Pluto is still helpful for learning how our solar system formed


Interested in more space science? Email us your question at shortwave@npr.org.


Listen to every episode of Short Wave sponsor-free and support our work at NPR by signing up for Short Wave+ at plus.npr.org/shortwave.

To manage podcast ad preferences, review the links below:

See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences.

Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices

NPR Privacy Policy