Though 3I/ATLAS will never come close to Earth, its passage offers a rare chance to study material beyond our solar system with ground-based and orbital telescopes, before it accelerates back into deep space . For the latest and best from Chron, sign up for our daily newsletter here.

NASA telescopes in Chile have discovered a comet from interstellar space, making its closest approach in October.

NASA has discovered a new interstellar comet that's currently located about 420 million miles away from Earth. The space agency spotted the quick-moving object with the Atlas telescope in Chile on Tuesday and confirmed it was a comet from another star system. The new interstellar comet's official name is 3I/ATLAS.