Astronomers on Wednesday confirmed the discovery of an interstellar object racing through our Solar System – only the third ever spotted, though scientists suspect many more may slip past unnoticed.

A comet the size of Manhattan has been detected hurtling through the solar system, marking only the third time an interstellar object has been observed from Earth. This was confirm

Officially named 3I/ATLAS, the comet was confirmed as having originated outside of Earth's solar system on July 3, according to the European Space Agency (ESA) and NASA. It is believed to be about 20 kilometers, or over 12 miles wide, according to the ESA and traveling at about 60 kilometers, or 37 miles per second relative to the sun.