New photographs of a rare interstellar comet disclose features in its bright head and lengthening tail as it nears the sun. The images of Comet 3I/ATLAS were captured by the Gemini South telescope at Cerro Pachón in Chile on August 27 while the frozen body navigated through the inner solar system. It is now roughly 238 million miles from Earth in the Libra constellation, according to TheSkyLive.com.

These pictures allow researchers to study the comet’s illumination, shedding light on its chemical makeup. Preliminary findings indicate that 3I/ATLAS comprises dust akin to that found in comets from our solar system, potentially implying that the materials for planet formation around other stars are similar.

“As 3I/ATLAS races back into the vastness of interstellar space, this image represents both a scientific achievement and a source of awe,” remarked Karen Meech, an astronomer from the University of Hawaii, in a statement. “It serves as a reminder that our Solar System is merely a section of a vast and dynamic galaxy.”

Unlike the numerous comets orbiting the sun, Comet 3I/ATLAS originated from a different star system and was expelled into interstellar space, perhaps due to the gravitational influence of a nearby planet or star. After floating for several hundred million years, the colossal ice ball has reached our region of the galaxy.

Comets are icy, rocky entities that shine when heated by the sun, leaving a trail of gas and dust behind them as they travel. They are regarded as remnants from the solar system’s creation 4.6 billion years ago. Scientists have detected over 4,000 comets, although many more are presumed to exist beyond Neptune in the Kuiper Belt or within the far-off Oort Cloud, a shell of frozen remnants approximately 50 times further from the sun.

However, in contrast to Halley’s Comet and other regular visitors, 3I/ATLAS is not from our solar system. Initially spotted on July 1 by NASA’s Asteroid Terrestrial-impact Last Alert System telescope, it was detected more than 400 million miles from Earth, moving at 137,000 mph. That speed is too great for the sun’s gravity to hold onto it.

Despite its rapid pace, it presents no danger to Earth. The nearest it will approach the planet is around 149 million miles away — more than 1.5 times the distance between Earth and the sun. At that moment in October, it will be obscured on the opposite side of the sun, according to the European Space Agency, but it is anticipated to reemerge in November.

Researchers indicate this is just the third interstellar comet to ever be confirmed. The first, a strange cigar-shaped object named ‘Oumuamua, passed through in 2017. Two years later, 2I/Borisov, which bears a closer resemblance to native comets, made an appearance.

Computer models propose that 3I/ATLAS may have come from a lesser-known area of the Milky Way populated with older stars. If accurate, the comet might be over 7 billion years old — nearly double the age of our solar system — retaining material from an earlier epoch of the galaxy.

Since it is already emitting gas and dust due to the sun’s heat, astronomers are certain it is a comet. Nonetheless, some individuals are speculating in the media that this icy guest could represent some type of alien technology.

“Extraordinary claims necessitate extraordinary evidence,” Larry Denneau, one of ATLAS’ co-principal investigators, stated to Mashable in August, “and the object is acting very much like a comet.”