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Does 3I/ATLAS have interstellar headlights? Harvard scientist Avi Loeb speculated that NASA’s recently released photos of 3I/ATLAS could potentially point to its artificial origins — and even wondered if the so-called comet was purposely targeting and sweeping meteorites out of its path. He posited his theory in a viral new blog post on Medium. “The extended glow is ahead of the object, not trailing it as expected for a cometary tail,” the astrophysicist told The Post. “In the case of a technological object, it could be a beam of particles or light illuminating the path forward to avoid the hazards...

Mysterious interstellar object 3I/ATLAS has reemerged from behind the Sun, allowing astronomers to once again get a glimpse at the rare visitor...and is expected to make its closest pass of the Earth just days before Christmas on its way back out of our star system.... .. judging by the latest data, ...Loeb suggests that if 3I/ATLAS really is a visitor from a technological civilization — a possibility he’s floated repeatedly — then it may be trying to boost its exit from the solar system to a breakneck pace. (Let’s face it: getting away from Earth as rapidly as possible makes...

For the first time, astronomers have picked up a radio signal from the mysterious interstellar visitor as it speeds through our Solar System. South Africa's MeerKAT radio telescope detected absorption lines from OH molecules...Harvard professor Avi Loeb, who has been studying 3I/ATLAS since the summer, said: 'These molecules leave a distinct radio signature that telescopes like MeerKAT can pick up.'... Optical images captured on November 9 reveal that 3I/ATLAS is ejecting enormous jets of material both toward and away from the sun. The jets stretch nearly 600,000 miles sunward and almost 1.8 million miles in the opposite direction, roughly the...

3I/ATLAS is a mad topic surrounded by speculations about aliens and other controversial takes. But there's a lot of real science about this fascinating objects. So, in this video we put together all the major discoveries and scientific papers about 3I/ATLAS. 3I/ATLAS Is Extremely Weird. But Not In The Ways You Think | 23:39 Fraser Cain | 476K subscribers | 74,119 views | October 10, 2025

3I/ATLAS, as seen by the Gemini South observatory in August 2025 (Credit: International Gemini Observatory/NOIRLab/NSF/AURA/Shadow the Scientist). ============================================================================ Physicists have detected water activity during observations of the mysterious comet 3I/ATLAS, marking the first time hydroxyl gas, a chemical signature of water, has been detected from the interstellar visitor. Using NASA’s Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory, the Auburn University team determined 3I/ATLAS is releasing water at a rate of roughly 40 kilograms per second, comparable to a fire hose running at full blast, while positioned nearly three times farther from the Sun than Earth. What makes this finding particularly remarkable is the...

Recent images purportedly depicting the interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS during its closest approach to Mars last week have erupted in controversy online, as many took to social media with theories about what the object’s unusual shape could mean about its nature and origins. The new images obtained last week by NASA’s Perseverance rover appear to show 3I/ATLAS streaking through the Martian night sky as it passed through the field of view of the robotic explorer’s Right Navigation Camera (Navcam) from its position in Jezero Crater. The recent imagery was originally uploaded to NASA’s multimedia page in raw format. Since that time,...

According to the team the polarimetric behavior is "significantly different from all known comets (either interstellar or bound to our Solar System)". 3I/ATLAS imaged by NASA’s Spectro-Photometer for the History of the Universe, Epoch of Reionization and Ices Explorer (SPHEREx). Image credit: NASA/SPHEREx. ================================================================= Ateam of astronomers have presented the first polarimetric observations of interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS, finding that it has extreme negative polarization. On July 1, 2025, astronomers spotted an object moving through the Solar System at nearly twice the velocity of previous interstellar visitors ‘Oumuamua and Comet Borisov. The object was confirmed to be an interstellar comet with...

Although most scientists have concluded that the mysterious object is comet, NASA's Perseverance rover on the Martian surface sent back photos showing what appears to be a massive cylindrical shape.

The origins of Comet 96P/Machholz (96P) have puzzled scientists for decades since its discovery. It is a four-mile-wide “sungrazer” object with a host of weird properties that suggest it may be an interloper from another star system. For instance, 96P’s composition is extremely unique and its orbit is highly tilted, causing it to pass closer to the Sun than almost any other comet. These features, among others, suggest that 96P may have been rerouted into our solar system by a chance encounter with Jupiter after its voyage across interstellar space. In an ironic twist, however, the comet's interactions with Jupiter...

Nearly six years ago, a space object roughly the size of a football field baffled scientists as it zipped through our solar system. The irregular shape and motion of the object, dubbed ‘Oumuamua, led to one of the most controversial astronomical mysteries, with theories that ranged from asteroid to alien probe. But a study published Wednesday in the journal Nature offers another answer: ‘Oumuamua is a typical comet that expelled gas in an odd way as it traveled through our solar system. “We’ve gone through every weird, crazy, possible theory—ideas that stretch the imagination to match all of these observed...

A MYSTERIOUS object hurtling towards our Solar System may be an alien spacecraft. That's the shock claim made by one space scientist, who has exclusively revealed to The Sun that our incoming visitor could be piloted by hyper-intelligent beings. Last week, scientists in Germany announced they had spotted a distant object heading in our direction. Dubbed "C/2019 Q4", the high-speed body appears to be on a path originating from another star system that will see it fire past Mars in October. Despite numerous attempts to study C/2019, scientists remain clueless as to what it is. Many speculate the distant mass...

A mysterious reddish cigar-shaped object spotted tumbling through our solar system last year may have been an alien spacecraft sent to investigate Earth, astronomers from Harvard University have suggested.

To recap, when `Oumuamua was first observed on October 19th, 2017, by astronomers using the University of Hawaii’s Panoramic Survey Telescope and Rapid Response System (Pan-STARRS), the object (then known as C/2017 U1) was initially believed to be a comet. However, subsequent observations revealed that it was actually an asteroid and it was renamed 1I/2017 U1 (or 1I/`Oumuamua). Follow-up observations made using the ESO’s Very Large Telescope (VLT) were able to place constraints on the asteroid’s size, brightness, composition, color and orbit. These revealed that `Oumuamua measured some 400 meters (1312 feet) long, is very elongated, and spins on its axis...

Both the James Webb Space Telescope and NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory observatory SPHEREx snapped new images of 3I/ATLAS this week, almost two months after it was first spotted in the skies above Chile. 3I/ATLAS glows red in the new images with a seemingly threatening aura, though most scientists believe the object to be merely a 12-mile-wide interstellar comet. The snaps showed that 3I/ATLAS is “outgassing” as it approaches the Sun, which was expected. However, the object is dumping out a conspicuous amount of carbon dioxide and a surprisingly small amount of water and carbon monoxide, according to experts, including Harvard...

Explanation: Discovered on July 1 with the NASA-funded ATLAS (Asteroid Terrestrial-impact Last Alert System) survey telescope in Rio Hurtado, Chile, 3I/ATLAS is so designated as the third known interstellar object to pass through our Solar System. It follows 1I/ʻOumuamua in 2017 and the comet 2I/Borisov in 2019. Also known as C/2025 N1, 3I/ATLAS is a comet. A teardrop-shaped cloud of dust, ejected from its icy nucleus warmed by increasing sunlight, is seen in this sharp image from the Hubble Space Telescope captured on July 21. Background stars are streaked in the exposure as Hubble tracked the fastest comet ever recorded...

The Hubble Space Telescope has captured the sharpest image yet of interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS, which is currently passing through our Solar System. Observations by Hubble have enabled astronomers to better estimate the size of the comet's nucleus, which is made of dust and ice. Hubble managed to capture a dust plume being ejected by the comet, as well as a glimpse of a dust tail streaming away from its nucleus. SNIP

A mysterious intergalactic object could potentially be a “hostile” alien spacecraft that’s slated to attack our planet in November, according to a controversial new study by a small group of scientists. “The consequences, should the hypothesis turn out to be correct, could potentially be dire for humanity,” the researchers wrote in the inflammatory paper, which was published July 16 to the preprint server arXiv, South West News Service reported. Dubbed 3I/ATLAS, the interstellar entity was discovered on July 1...

Scientists are racing to learn as much as possible about the interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS before it fades from view forever The interstellar object 3I/ATLAS appears as a blurry, dust-shrouded dot in this image from the Gemini North telescope. Future observations should reveal much more about this mysterious object, the third known visitor from beyond our solar system. International Gemini Observatory/NOIRLab/NSF/AURA/K. Meech (IfA/U. Hawaii) Image Processing: Jen Miller & Mahdi Zamani (NSF NOIRLab) (CC BY 4.0) ================================================================= Earlier this month astronomers were thrilled to discover only the third known interstellar object ever seen in our solar system. Now dubbed 3I/ATLAS, the...

Astronomers using the Gemini North telescope at NSF’s International Gemini Observatory have captured 3I/ATLAS as it makes its temporary passage through our cosmic neighborhood ============================================================== This image from the Multi-Object Spectrograph (GMOS-N) at the Gemini North telescope shows the interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS. Image credit: International Gemini Observatory / NOIRLab / NSF / AURA / K. Meech, IfA & U. Hawaii / Jen Miller & Mahdi Zamani, NOIRLab. Interstellar objects are objects that originate outside of, and are observed passing through, our Solar System. Ranging from tens of meters to a few kilometers in size, these objects are pieces of cosmic...

Explanation: It came from outer space. An object from outside our Solar System is now passing through at high speed. Classified as a comet because of its gaseous coma, 3I/ATLAS is only the third identified macroscopic object as being so alien. The comet's trajectory is shown in white on the featured map, where the orbits of Jupiter, Mars, and Earth are shown in gold, red, and blue. Currently Comet 3I/ATLAS is about the distance of Jupiter from the Sun -- but closing, with its closest approach to our Sun expected to be within the orbit of Mars in late October....