Space & Astronomy

More strangeness surrounds approach of 'comet' 3I/ATLAS

By T.K. Randall
November 7, 2025 ·  235 comments

Image: Artist's impression of the interstellar asteroid 'Oumuamua
Credit: ESA/Hubble, NASA, ESO, M. Kornmesser / CC BY 4.0 (adapted) By now, just about everyone will have heard about 3I/ATLAS, an interstellar object - thought by most scientists to be a comet - that has been passing through our solar system in recent months.

Most of the intrigue surrounding this object comes courtesy of a vocal minority - including Harvard's Prof Avi Loeb - who believe that there is a reasonable chance that 3I/ATLAS could in fact be an artificially constructed object controlled by an advanced extraterrestrial civilization.

Eyebrows were further raised earlier this week when it was revealed via NASA that this intriguing interstellar interloper had in fact changed its trajectory unexpectedly and had also sped up.

NASA also reportedly confirmed that the object had shifted course "beyond gravity's control".Elsewhere, Avi Loeb has noted that in new photographs from the R. Naves Observatory in Spain, 3I/ATLAS does not appear to have a large tail as would be expected for a comet that has reached this close to the Sun.

He also highlighted his existing list of anomalies concerning the object, including the fact that it seems to align almost perfectly with the ecliptic plane of the planets around the Sun (a 0.2% likelihood), the fact that it appears to have an anomalously massive nucleus and that its gas plume consists of far more nickel than iron (something potentially indicative of industrial production).

He also notes that it seems to have originated from the same direction as the mysterious 'Wow!' signal.

Given that 3I/ATLAS will reach its closest approach of the Earth on December 19th, we may not have too much longer to wait before we can find out for sure if it actually is a comet or if there really is something strange about this curious interstellar visitor.

Source: wionews.com | Comments (235)

Tags: Interstellar, Avi Loeb