Comet 3I/ATLAS was traveling at approximately 137,000 miles per hour.
Notes on verification
Confirmed by NASA's official facts page and corroborated by Scientific American, AccuWeather, and other sources. Minor variation exists depending on reference frame (discovery speed vs. perihelion speed) but the 137,000 mph figure at discovery is consistently cited. [tier=gold indep_score=0.867 clusters=3 claim_tier=notable]
Sources
- The Ten Most Significant Science Stories of 2025, From Medical ... (seed:science_and_space)
- https://science.nasa.gov/solar-system/comets/3i-atlas/3i-atlas-facts-and-faqs/ (corroboration)
- https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/interstellar-comet-3i-atlas-captured-speeding-through-the-solar-system-by/ (corroboration)
- https://www.accuweather.com/en/space-news/comet-3i-atlas-interstellar-comet-visits-solar-system/1792533 (corroboration)