A mysterious object, first observed hurtling across the solar system on July 1, has now been identified as "very likely to be the oldest comet ever."

I/ATLAS isn't just fascinating because it is the third interstellar visitor found in the solar system; new research suggests it's also the oldest comet ever seen, at over 7 billion years old.

A mystery interstellar object discovered last week is likely to be the oldest comet ever seen—possibly predating our solar system by more than 3 billion years, researchers say.