3I/ATLAS

High school (ages 12+)
Space & Astronomy

Name:

Date:

Step 1 · Read the article

Open the article and read it at the level above. Then answer the questions below in your own words.

https://smallwhale.org/articles/3i-atlas

Write what each word means, using the article.

Do not copy the article. Write two things you learned, the way you would explain them to a friend.

Answers below are taken from the article’s stored facts, so they match what the student read.

1. Who discovered 3I/ATLAS?Asteroid Terrestrial-impact Last Alert System (ATLAS)
2. What is the orbital trajectory?Unbound, hyperbolic trajectory, indicating it will not return
3. What is the closest solar approach (perihelion)?October 29, 2025, at 1.36 AU from the Sun
4. Why is 3I/ATLAS special?It is special because it is not bound to our Sun and will not return. Scientists can study it to learn about the chemistry of other star systems.
5. Where does 3I/ATLAS come from?Scientists think it may have come from the thick disk of the Milky Way, making it very old—perhaps older than our Sun by billions of years.

Protoplanetary Disk: A rotating disk of dense gas and dust surrounding a newly formed star, from which planets form.
Nucleus: The solid, icy core of a comet, from which gas and dust are released.
Solar Conjunction: The celestial event when a planet or comet passes behind the Sun as seen from Earth, making it difficult or impossible to observe.