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Astronomers have discovered the third interstellar comet to pass through our solar system. Named 3I/ATLAS (initially A11pl3Z), it was first spotted July 1 by the ATLAS telescope in Chile and confirmed the same day. Pre-discovery images show it in the sky as far back as mid-June. The object is racing toward the inner system at roughly 150,000 miles per hour on a near-straight trajectory, too fast for the Sun to capture. Estimates suggest its nucleus may be 10–20 km across. Now inside Jupiter’s orbit, 3I/ATLAS will swing closest to the Sun in October and should remain observable into late 2025.
Discovery and Classification
According to NASA, in early July the ATLAS survey telescope in Chile spotted a faint moving object first called A11pl3Z, and the IAU’s Minor Planet Center confirmed the next day that it was an interstellar visitor. The object was officially named 3I/ATLAS and noted as likely the largest interstellar body yet detected. At first it appeared to be an ordinary near-Earth asteroid, but precise orbit measurements showed it speeding at ~150,000 mph – far too fast for the Sun to capture. Astronomers estimate 3I/ATLAS spans roughly 10–20 km across. Signs of cometary activity – a faint coma and short tail – have emerged, earning it the additional comet designation C/2025 N1 (ATLAS).
Studying a Pristine Comet
3I/ATLAS was spotted well before its closest approach, giving astronomers time to prepare detailed observations. It will pass within about 1.4 AU of the Sun in late October. Importantly, researchers can study it while it is still a pristine frozen relic before solar heating alters it. As Pamela Gay notes, discovering the object on its inbound leg leaves “ample time” to analyze its trajectory. Astronomers are now racing to obtain spectra and images – as Chris Lintott warns, the comet will be “baked” by sunlight as it nears perihelion.
Determining its composition and activity is considered “a rare chance” to learn how planets form in other star systems. With new facilities like the Vera C. Rubin Observatory coming online, researchers expect more such visitors in the years ahead. 3I/ATLAS offers a rare chance to study material from another star system.
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Marine animals like fish and seals have long inspired ocean engineers due to their fluid, energy-efficient movements. Now, researchers are turning to these sea animals to create a new class of underwater gliders that requires very little energy, according to a team led by researchers from MIT’s Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory (CSAIL) and the University of Wisconsin-Madison. They used artificial intelligence to design forms that slide through the water with less resistance, making long-term ocean exploration more efficient. These gliders, fabricated via 3D printing, promise better data collection on currents, salt levels, and climate impacts.
AI-Powered 3D Designs Create Energy-Efficient Underwater Gliders Inspired by Marine Life Forms
As per a study published on the arXiv preprint server, the team used machine learning to create and simulate numerous novel 3D glider shapes. By comparing traditional models—like submarines and sharks—with digitally altered versions, their algorithm learnt how different designs behaved at various “angles-of-attack.” A neural network then evaluated the lift-to-drag ratio of each shape, identifying those most likely to glide efficiently through water. These shapes were then fabricated using lightweight materials that minimised energy use.
In tests, two AI-generated prototypes—one shaped like a two-winged plane and the other like a four-finned flatfish—were built and tested both in wind tunnels and underwater. Key hardware was integrated with the gliders, including buoyancy control by a pump and a mass shifter to move the angle during displacements. The new gliders, with better shapes and lift-to-drag ratios, could travel farther on less power than traditional torpedo-shaped types.
The team added that what they are doing not only makes new types of designs possible but also reduces design times and cuts the cost since it doesn’t require physical prototyping. “This high degree of shape diversity hasn’t been investigated before,” Peter Yichen Chen, an MIT postdoc and co-lead author on the project, mentioned. He also noted that their AI pipeline allows testing forms that would be “very taxing” for humans to manually design.
The future plans are to produce slimmer and more manoeuvrable gliders and to improve the AI system with more configurable options. Intelligent bioinspired vehicles like these, the researchers say, will be essential in studying dynamic ocean environments that are changing quickly with the intensifying demands of industrial activity, ultimately offering more flexible and efficient ways for us to explore Earth’s last frontier.
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