Description

Comets are cosmic time capsules, but some carry stories from far beyond our Solar System. Join us for a live discussion on Comet 3I/ATLAS, the third known interstellar object to visit our cosmic neighborhood. Host Simon Steel, Deputy Director of the Carl Sagan Center at the SETI Institute, will be joined by a panel of experts to explore what makes this comet unique, how scientists are studying it, and what its presence means for our understanding of planetary systems beyond our own.

Guests include:

• Dr. James Davenport, Research Assistant Professor at the University of Washington, will provide context for Comet 3I/ATLAS by comparing it to previous interstellar visitors like ‘Oumuamua and Borisov.
• Dr. Wael Farah, SETI Chair and Project Scientist for the Allen Telescope Array, offers insight into how radio telescopes are aiding the search for interstellar interlopers.
• Dr. Ariel Graykowski, Postdoctoral Fellow at the SETI Institute, who studies comets and small Solar System bodies and works with the Unistellar citizen science network on observations.

Don’t miss this chance to learn how astronomers are racing to study this rare visitor before it slips back into the void.

(Recorded live 11 July 2025.)