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.

Astronomers are tracking a newly spotted comet hailing from parts unknown, only the third time such an interstellar object has been observed visiting our solar system.

NASA has discovered an interstellar comet that's wandered into our backyard. The space agency spotted the object with the Atlas telescope in Chile earlier this week, and has confirmed it was a comet from another star system.