Is 3I/Atlas Alive? The Interstellar Comet That Defies Everything We Know

Andrew Collins

Abstract

The discovery of 3I/Atlas in July 2025 has sparked widespread scientific intrigue due to its atypical behavior and composition, which challenge existing paradigms of interstellar objects (ISOs). Unlike previous interstellar visitors such as 1I/`Oumuamua and 2I/Borisov, Atlas exhibits a host of anomalies that suggest the possibility of a non-natural origin or even a form of extraterrestrial technology. This paper synthesizes current observational data, analyzes the peculiarities of 3I/Atlas, examines hypotheses regarding its nature, and considers implications for our understanding of interstellar objects and potential extraterrestrial interventions.

The strange behaviour of 3I/Atlas since it was first recorded entering the inner Solar System by the NASA-funded Asteroid Terrestrial-impact Last Alert System (ATLAS) in Río Hurtado, Chile, on July 1, 2025 sets it apart from the previous two interstellar objects spotted in our skies over the past decade. Its hyperbolic trajectory coinciding with the path of the planets, its scheduled rendezvous with three of them, its curious front-pointing anti-tail, its strange composition, and the unique polarization of light within its coma, all tell us we are dealing with an object not yet entirely understood by science.

NASA's Hubble Space Telescope captures interstellar comet 3I/Atlas with unprecedented detail.

Source: Space.com

While to some 3I/Atlas is simply a weird-acting exocomet of unusual composition, others, such as Dr Avi Loeb of Harvard University, propose that we should consider the possibility that it is an example of alien technology. Indeed, the various anomalies identified in connection with 3I/Atlas place it at four on Avi’s newly rolled-out Loeb Scale where zero is a natural comet and ten is an unquestionable alien spacecraft of potential danger to life on Earth (with 1I/’Oumuamua, the first interstellar visitor from 2017 being at four on the Loeb Scale, and 2I/Borisov, the second interstellar from 2019, being at zero on the scale). As of October 2025, Loeb estimates a 30-40% chance that 3I/Atlas may not be entirely natural, based on eight anomalies.

Introduction

Since the first confirmed detection of an interstellar object traversing our Solar System in 2017, designated 1I/Oumuamua, astronomers have been captivated by these fleeting visitors from beyond our stellar neighborhood. Notably, 2I/Borisov in 2019 reaffirmed the existence of interstellar comets or asteroids, but both objects conformed broadly to natural expectations: 1I/Oumuamua was elongated and lacked a coma, leading to debates about its nature, while 2I/Borisov was a classical comet with a volatile-rich composition.

The arrival of 3I/Atlas in July 2025, however, appears to upend this pattern. Detected initially by the NASA-funded Asteroid Terrestrial-impact Last Alert System (ATLAS) in Río Hurtado, Chile, 3I/Atlas displayed behaviors and features that render its classification ambiguous. This article aims to evaluate whether 3I/Atlas is a typical interstellar comet or something more extraordinary—potentially an artifact of extraterrestrial engineering.

3I/ATLAS huge breakthrough: NASA detects Fingerprint of Water — Could it confirm life beyond Earth?

Observational Data and Anomalies

• Discovery and Trajectory

On July 1, 2025, ATLAS registered a fast-moving object with a hyperbolic trajectory, indicative of an interstellar origin. The trajectory of 3I/Atlas coincided with the plane of the Solar System, a trait that distinguishes it from previous interstellar visitors, which often exhibit hyperbolic inclinations. Its precise orbital parameters suggest that it will have close approaches with three planets—Mars, Earth, and Venus—over the next two years, offering unparalleled opportunities for observation.

Copyright Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/AP

• Physical Characteristics

1. Shape and Size

   Initial imaging suggests a highly elongated body, roughly 400 meters in length, with a width-to-length ratio exceeding 5:1. Unlike the more rounded nucleus of 2I/Borisov or the elongated shape of `Oumuamua, Atlas's morphology appears more filamentary.

2. Surface and Composition

   Spectroscopic analyses reveal an unusual mixture: a significant fraction of organic compounds, complex hydrocarbons, and refractory materials. This composition is atypical for classical comets, which are predominantly icy bodies, raising questions about its origin.

3. Coma and Tail

   The object exhibits a curious "front-pointing anti-tail," a tail oriented opposite to the Sun, yet the effect is asymmetric and highly variable. Moreover, the coma shows an unusual polarization of light, with measurements indicating a polarization degree of approximately 25%, substantially higher than typical comets, which usually exhibit polarization between 10-15%.

4. Activity Pattern

   Unlike the steady sublimation-driven activity observed in 2I/Borisov, 3I/Atlas demonstrates irregular outbursts, inconsistent with standard sublimation patterns, suggesting an alternative process—possibly structural breakdown or non-volatile activity.

This NASA/ESA image shows interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS, captured by Hubble on 21 July 2025, from 277 million miles away. 

Credit: NASA/European Space Agency via AP

• The Anomalies

Eight primary anomalies have been identified, each contributing to the debate about 3I/Atlas's nature:

1. Hyperbolic trajectory aligned with planetary orbits
2. Presence of a front-pointing anti-tail with asymmetric morphology
3. Unusual polarization levels within the coma
4. Irregular activity patterns not matching sublimation models
5. Composition rich in complex organics with refractory materials
6. Morphology elongated beyond typical cometary nuclei
7. Repeated close approaches potentially affecting observational data
8. Lack of expected volatile-driven activity during perihelion

Hypotheses and Interpretations

The anomalies observed in 3I/Atlas have led to diverse hypotheses, ranging from natural origin theories to more speculative, technologically driven explanations.

• Natural Origin: A Peculiar Exocomet

Many astronomers posit that Atlas represents a highly unusual comet originating from another planetary system. Its atypical composition and dynamic behavior could result from its evolution under conditions different from those in our Solar System—such as exposure to intense stellar radiation or unique planetary formation processes.

However, the specific anomalies—like its polarization, anti-tail morphology, and irregular activity—are difficult to reconcile with purely natural bodies, prompting skepticism.

• Artificial or Technological Origin: A Potential Artifact

Some researchers, including Harvard Professor Dr. Avi Loeb, hypothesize that 3I/Atlas might be an artifact of extraterrestrial technology, whether a probe, a fragment of a spacecraft, or an interstellar artifact deliberately or accidently released from another civilization.

Loeb's Loeb Scale assigns a value from 0-10 to objects based on their likelihood of being artificial:

- Zero (0): Natural celestial body, like a normal comet or asteroid

- Ten (10): Unquestionable alien spacecraft

In October 2025, Loeb estimates a 30-40% probability that Atlas is not entirely natural, primarily based on its anomalies, which he interprets as potential signs of intentional design or non-biological origin.

Key arguments supporting this hypothesis include:

- The anti-tail morphology resembles engineered features designed to manipulate light or confusion to observers.

- Polarization anomalies could be indicative of artificial surfaces or materials.

- The irregular activity may correspond to intentional modulation of energy emissions or structural self-maintenance.

• Theoretical Support for Artificial Origin

The hypothesis of an interstellar probe or artifact is not unfounded within current scientific discourse. Historically, interpretations of 1I/`Oumuamua have included the possibility of artificial origin due to its acceleration unexplained by gravitational forces alone and its shape.

In the case of Atlas, its trajectory's alignment with planetary planes and the peculiar activity imply that it may have been designed or modified intentionally, perhaps as a "message in a bottle" or a reconnaissance device.

Consequences and Future Research

• Scientific Significance

Confirming an artificial origin for 3I/Atlas would have profound implications:

- Extraterrestrial Intelligence (ETI): Evidence of engineering artifacts would indicate an advanced alien civilization exists or once existed.

- Interstellar Material Culture: Understanding the characteristics of such artifacts would inform models of interstellar object creation and propagation.

- Detection Strategies: New methodologies could be developed for identifying and analyzing potential alien objects.

• Observational Campaigns and Data Collection

Upcoming planetary encounters will facilitate in-situ observations. High-resolution imaging using ground-based telescopes, and eventually space-based platforms, aim to resolve the body's size, shape, and surface features.

Spectroscopic measurements across multiple wavelengths will refine composition profiles, and polarization studies may help distinguish between natural and artificial materials.

• Challenges

- Distinguishing Natural vs. Artificial: The detectability of engineered features could be limited by current technology.

- Potential Hazards: If the object is alien and exhibits intentional activity, there's a theoretical risk of encountering technologies beyond current understanding.

- Time Constraints: Close approaches happen rapidly, requiring swift mobilization of observational resources.

Discussion

The case of 3I/Atlas exemplifies the tension between naturalistic explanations and the possibility of extraordinary origins. While many anomalies can be explained via exotic natural processes, the accumulation of irregular behaviors and properties has revived debates about extraterrestrial technology.

The scientific community remains cautious. The data from current observations are compelling but not conclusively indicative of alien origin. Nonetheless, Atlas has invigorated the search for signatures of extraterrestrial technology and heightened awareness that interstellar visitors may sometimes be more than natural objects.

Conclusion

As of October 2025, 3I/Atlas remains an enigma—an interstellar object that challenges our understanding of planetary formation, cometary physics, and possibly, the existence of extraterrestrial technology. Its unique behavior, anomalous features, and trajectory position it as a candidate for future studies into alien artifacts. The coming months and years, with intensified observational campaigns, will be critical in deciphering whether 3I/Atlas is an extraordinary natural phenomenon or a technological relic from another civilization sent across the stars, possibly alive, possibly watching.

References

1. Loeb, A. (2021). Extraterrestrial objects: extraterrestrial or natural? Astrophysical Journal Letters, 910(2), L5.

2. Hughes, D. W. (2020). Interstellar visitors: The case of 1I/‘Oumuamua. Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, 492(4), 842-850.

3. NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory. (2022). The exploration of interstellar objects. NASA Technical Report.

4. Meech, K. J., et al. (2017). Additional observations of interstellar comet 2I/‘Oumuamua. Nature, 552(7685), 378–381.

5. Siraj, A., & Loeb, A. (2022). Number density of interstellar objects and their implications. Astrophysical Journal, 927(1), 5.

6. ESA Space Science Division. (2023). Future missions to interstellar objects. European Space Agency Report.

7. Morbidelli, A., & Nesvorný, D. (2020). Origins of interstellar objects. Annual Review of Astronomy and Astrophysics, 58, 451-487.

8. Jewitt, D., & Luu, J. (2019). Analysis of the physical properties of interstellar minor planets. Science Advances, 5(8), eaaw9776.

9. Bialy, S., & Loeb, A. (2018). ‘Oumuamua as an artificial object? Astrophysical Journal Letters, 868(2), L1.

10. International Astronomical Union (IAU). (2023). Official nomenclature and classifications of interstellar objects. IAU Circulars and reports.

{ PETER2011 }

03-11-2025 om 16:11 geschreven door peter  

On the occasion of Halloween, the European Southern Observatory (ESO) published an image taken by the VST telescope. It shows an object resembling a bat.

In fact, the VST image shows a large cloud of cosmic gas and dust known as RCW 94/95. It is located about 10,000 light-years from Earth between the southern constellations Circinus and Norma. If we could see it with the naked eye, it would cover an area in the sky equivalent to four full moons.

This nebula is a stellar nursery, where new stars are forming. Newborn stars emit enough energy to excite the hydrogen atoms around them, causing them to glow intensely with a characteristic red color.

As for the dark filaments, which resemble the outline of a bat’s skeleton, they are cold, dense clusters of gas and dust grains. We can see them because they block the light from more distant background stars.

The image of the nebula was obtained using the VLT Survey Telescope. It is part of the Paranal Observatory, located in the Atacama Desert. The telescope is equipped with a 268-megapixel OmegaCAM camera, which gives it the ability to capture vast areas of the sky.

The image of the nebula was created by combining images obtained through filters that transmit different colors or wavelengths of light. Most of the bat’s shape, including the red glow, was captured in visible light. Additional infrared data, which revealed the densest parts of the nebula and added color to the image, was obtained using the VISTA telescope.

Earlier, we reported on how the James Webb Telescope photographed an amazing nebula resembling a red spider.

• According to ESO

• Posted in News, Science

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02-11-2025 om 21:09 geschreven door peter  

Could There Have Been a Civilization Before the Ice Age?

Evidence of complex human activity at the end of the Ice Age does exist.

Imagine standing on the shores of the modern-day Black Sea about 8,000 years ago. Instead of brackish waves, you would have seen a calm freshwater lake surrounded by fertile plains and forested hills. That landscape changed dramatically around 7,600 years ago. Marine geologists William Ryan and Walter Pitman, after years of sediment analysis and sonar scans, proposed that a catastrophic flood had occurred when rising Mediterranean waters surged through the Bosporus Strait. This event rapidly transformed the Black Sea from a freshwater lake into a vast saltwater basin.

Sediment cores taken from the seabed reveal ancient shorelines more than 100 meters below present sea level, supporting the idea of a sudden inundation. While this event occurred after the last Ice Age, it remains one of the most dramatic post-glacial sea-level changes. It has led some researchers to wonder whether human settlements—perhaps even early civilizations—were lost beneath the rising waters.

Echoes Beneath the Waves

Over the past two decades, researchers have mapped submerged landscapes along the Black Sea’s former shoreline. Using sonar and underwater drones, they’ve documented features that appear to show organized shapes and linear patterns. While some formations resemble terraces or walls, these interpretations remain speculative. No peer-reviewed study has yet confirmed the presence of definitive pre-Holocene architecture beneath the Black Sea.

Still, the surrounding basin was once fertile and habitable. Archaeological evidence from the nearby Anatolian and Balkan regions shows Neolithic communities thriving in the millennia leading up to the flood. It’s plausible that similar groups occupied now-submerged lowlands. If so, their settlements may have been erased swiftly, with little trace left behind—except perhaps in the memories of their descendants.

Göbekli Tepe: A Clue from Stone

Evidence of complex human activity at the end of the Ice Age does exist—above sea level. Göbekli Tepe, located in southeastern Turkey (one of my absolute favorite sites), was constructed around 9600 BCE, shortly after the Younger Dryas cold snap. The site features towering limestone pillars, some up to 10 tons, carved with animals, symbols, and abstract motifs. Its builders used advanced quarrying and organizational skills, even though they had no pottery, no written language, and no domesticated crops.

The sophistication of Göbekli Tepe challenges the traditional view that complex societies only emerged after agriculture. While the people who built it were likely hunter-gatherers, they clearly had the social coordination and symbolic systems often associated with later civilizations. This raises the question: Could Göbekli Tepe represent a surviving cultural lineage—descendants of an earlier, now-lost society forced to adapt after environmental collapse? Or is Göbekli Tepe a civilization on its own? Lost to time? If you believe there is a possibility, read this article I wrote a while back.

Atlantis Reconsidered

References to lost civilizations are not limited to scientific theories. Plato’s tale of Atlantis, often regarded as a philosophical allegory, has inspired generations of researchers to search for real-world parallels. Around the globe, underwater features have stirred debate: the Yonaguni Monument off Japan, structures in the Gulf of Khambhat off India, and the Bimini Road near the Bahamas.

The Bimini Road, in particular, consists of large, flat stones arranged in a roughly linear path just offshore. While many geologists identify it as natural beachrock shaped by erosion and wave action, a few researchers argue the stones show signs of human modification. No definitive tools or artifacts have been found to confirm this, and mainstream science considers the formation natural. However, its ambiguity keeps it in the public eye and reflects a broader curiosity about what the oceans might be hiding.

Younger Dryas and the Cosmic Impact Theory

Some scientists argue that the abrupt climate shift around 12,900 years ago—the Younger Dryas—was caused by a cosmic impact. This theory, known as the Younger Dryas Impact Hypothesis, proposes that a comet or asteroid exploded in the atmosphere over North America or Greenland, triggering wildfires, global cooling, and widespread ecological disruption.

Supporting evidence includes peaks in platinum levels, nanodiamonds, and tiny glass-like spheres found in geological layers from that time. However, the scientific community remains divided. Critics point to the lack of a definitive crater, while proponents argue the explosion may have occurred in the air or on ice, leaving minimal physical trace.

If the hypothesis is correct, such an event could have devastated early societies, particularly those concentrated in vulnerable lowland regions. Any civilization that had emerged by then may have been scattered or reduced to small bands of survivors, their cultural memory passed on through story, symbol, and myth.

Hidden in Oral Tradition

Across the world, traditional stories tell of great floods, fire from the sky, and civilizations destroyed in cataclysm. The Mesopotamian Epic of Gilgamesh recounts a massive deluge. In Hindu texts, Manu survives a divine flood. Native American, Aboriginal Australian, and African oral traditions include tales of fire, shaking earth, and rising seas.

Historians caution against taking myths at face value. Still, the shared elements in these narratives are striking. While independent invention is possible, some scholars suggest these stories may preserve collective memories of real events—filtered through generations and transformed by cultural lenses. If so, they could offer clues to a time when humanity faced disasters so profound that only myth could preserve their meaning.

The Pursuit of Proof

The biggest challenge in confirming a pre-Ice Age civilization is the passage of time itself. Sea levels rose more than 120 meters after the last glacial maximum, submerging vast coastal areas where early populations likely lived. Underwater environments accelerate decay: wood, bone, and textiles degrade rapidly; storms and currents bury or break structures.

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01-11-2025 om 23:14 geschreven door peter  

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01-11-2025 om 22:57 geschreven door peter  

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01-11-2025 om 22:49 geschreven door peter  

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01-11-2025 om 22:42 geschreven door peter  

(Image Credit: NASA/Intl. Gemini Observatory/NOIRLab/NSF/AURA/Shadow the Scientist)

3I/ATLAS is also helping confirm data that suggests such objects probably make appearances far more frequently in our Solar System than previously known. With its glowing gassy envelope—what astronomers call a coma—and other key traits that have manifested as the object has moved closer to the Sun, little doubt has been left about the interstellar visitor’s identity as a natural object.

However, there are still some experts who interpret its recent activity as being noteworthy indicators—if additional related phenomena were to be confirmed in future observations—which some might expect to associate with objects of technological origin. So what does the latest data reveal, and why does it still have some astronomers divided over whether 3I/ATLAS might show signs associated with intelligent life?

What the New Report Reveals

A recent report by researcher Davide Farnoccia with NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory offers some of the latest data on the gravitational characteristics displayed by 3I/ATLAS during its journey through our Solar System.

Farnoccia specializes in the study of small objects and their orbits, which includes “nongravitational perturbations” some space objects display, as well as whether some near-Earth objects (NEOs) may pose an impact hazard to Earth.

According to Farnoccia’s report, 3I/ATLAS follows a hyperbolic orbit, displaying an eccentricity of e = 6.1373 (rounded). This figure is important, as it significantly exceeds the accepted value of 1 that astronomers recognize as being required to escape the Sun’s gravity. This means that the object’s trajectory confirms that 3I/ATLAS is not gravitationally bound to our Solar System, confirming astronomers’ suspicions that once it completes its recent planetary drive-by visit, the object will continue back into interstellar space.

NASA diagram showing the trajectory of the interstellar object 3I/ATLAS

(Image Credit: NASA).

Perihelion Surprises

3I/ATLAS reached perihelion—its closest point to the Sun—on October 29, 2025, with the object reaching a point of approximately 1.356 astronomical units (AU) from our nearest star. This placed the comet just beyond Earth’s orbit, displaying a steep retrograde inclination of around 175 degrees, which reveals an incoming path that is almost completely the opposite direction of planetary motion.

Farnoccia’s report confirms that the object also displayed something that many astronomers were eager to see if 3I/ATLAS would reveal as it approached perihelion: signs of measurable non-gravitational accelerations.

Unlike the odd, elongated shape of 1I/‘Oumuamua, the first confirmed interstellar object discovered in 2017, and its dusty successor 2I/Borisov, the confirmation that 3I/ATLAS displays measurable non-gravitational accelerations (the data in Farnocchia’s report can be found here) offers a good indication of cometary behavior driven by outgassing, making the interstellar visitor a valuable new sample of icy material from another star system.

However, not all scientists interpret the object’s non-gravitational accelerations as being further evidence of the object’s identity as an interstellar comet. Some have even suggested that such behavior around the time of perihelion could be a prime indicator of something more complex.

Watching for Signs of ET Signatures 

Just before 3I/ATLAS reached perihelion, theoretical physicist Michio Kaku, in an appearance on NewsMax, said that if the object seemed to display an increase in energy as it neared the Sun, this could be interpreted as evidence that the object is something more than just a comet.

“If it picks up extra energy on its flyby, that would clinch it,” Kaku said. “That means there’s extraterrestrial intelligence involved.”

Kaku then offered a general explanation for what is known as the Oberth effect, a powered maneuver in which a spacecraft falls under the influence of an object’s gravity and then uses its source of propulsion to achieve further acceleration during its fall. The result is that the spacecraft achieves additional speed by using its passage within the gravitational well to gain kinetic energy, which is far more efficient than relying solely on its engines to provide thrust.

“The Oberth effect says that if you were to whip around the Sun, you would pick up extra energy in the process,” Kaku explained. “So we’re gonna watch for it. The energy in must equal the energy out, according to the ordinary theory. But if that’s not true—if there’s more energy going out than in—it means that there’s an energy boost coming from whipping around the Sun, and that requires intelligence.”

So, do the non-gravitational accelerations 3I/ATLAS has now been confirmed to have displayed around the time of perihelion point to signs of technology, as Kaku and others had been waiting to see?

However, there is another interpretation of the non-gravitational movement that Loeb offers, which remains in keeping with his more exotic speculations from recent weeks.

“Alternatively, the non-gravitational acceleration might be the technological signature of an internal engine,” Loeb wrote in a recent post on his Medium page. Loeb also argues that 3I/ATLAS’s unexpectedly blue color, which it began to display at perihelion, is unusual for a natural comet, as most would expect them to appear redder due to dust scattering and its cold surface temperature.

Based on this, Loeb suggests the anomaly could potentially stem from the presence of a hot engine or some source of artificial illumination. However, the Harvard astrophysicist also concedes that this odd coloration may simply be due to ionized carbon monoxide, a natural cometary process. In short, while the latest data is intriguing and invites continued scrutiny, the evidence still favors a natural cometary origin.

More Data on the Strangest Comet Ever Seen

New data continues to be collected about 3I/ATLAS, with the current number of observations detailed in Farnoccia’s report totaling 647 collected over a 167-day observation arc. This provides high confidence in the orbit determination of 3I/ATLAS, and ensures that the object poses no threat to Earth, with a minimum orbital intersection distance (MOID) of 0.363 AU.

With its confirmed interstellar origin and active cometary nature, it remains hard to argue against 3I/ATLAS’s identity as a natural space object, and one that offers a rare opportunity to study pristine foreign ices, dust, and organic compounds. Frustratingly, additional data that may have been obtained by NASA cameras like the HiRISE camera aboard the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter remains inaccessible to the public as the recent U.S. government shutdown, already one of the longest in history, persists.

Fortunately, space agencies in several other nations, as well as the independent efforts of NASA researchers like Farnoccia, continue to collect new information on 3I/ATLAS that may potentially help to shed new light on the object and its unusual qualities, and more broadly, the chemical diversity of planetary systems beyond our own.

• Micah Hanks is the Editor-in-Chief and Co-Founder of The Debrief. A longtime reporter on science, defense, and technology with a focus on space and astronomy, he can be reached at micah@thedebrief.org. Follow him on X @MicahHanks, and at micahhanks.com.

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01-11-2025 om 20:57 geschreven door peter  

Everything we know about 3I/ATLAS: The confirmed comet speeding through our Solar System

Copyright Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/AP

By Theo Farrant

While most scientists believe it’s a natural comet, one Harvard astronomer has suggested its unusual features could hint at signs of alien technology.

On 1 July 2025, astronomers using the ATLAS (Asteroid Terrestrial-impact Last Alert System) survey telescope in Rio Hurtado, Chile, detected a faint, fast-moving object unlike anything seen before.

The discovery, officially named 3I/ATLAS (C/2025 N1), marks only the third confirmed interstellar object ever observed - after ʻOumuamua in 2017 and 2I/Borisov in 2019.

But what exactly is 3I/ATLAS, where is it going, and could this strange visitor from another star be more than just a comet?

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What is 3I/ATLAS?

NASA has officially identified 3I/ATLAS as a comet and not an asteroid on Wednesday, following detailed telescope observations that revealed clear signs of activity.

Scientists observed an icy core enveloped by a coma, the luminous halo of gas and dust.

This outgassing and the release of dust, mean that 3I/ATLAS is composed primarily of frozen compounds, which is consistent with comet behaviour.

The interstellar object is currently traversing the solar system, offering researchers a rare opportunity to study material from beyond our cosmic neighbourhood.

Its name was derived from its origins: “3” for the third interstellar object found, “I” for interstellar, and “ATLAS” for the telescope network that spotted it.

What makes it extraordinary is where it came from. Its speed and trajectory show that it’s not gravitationally bound to the Sun - meaning it must have originated in another star system and wandered into ours by chance.

How fast is it travelling and where is it going?

According to astronomers, 3I/ATLAS is racing through space at more than 200,000 km/h (around 61 km per second), and its speed is increasing as it approaches the Sun.

It’s following a hyperbolic orbit, which means that it’s moving too quickly to be captured by the Sun’s gravity.

“It’s going to kind of cruise through the inner solar system – in between Mars and Earth’s orbit – and then it will fly past the sun," Con Stoitsis, comet and meteor director at the Astronomical Society of Victoria, told The Guardian.

"This one is on what we call a hyperbolic orbit. So it’s not gravitationally bound to the sun. It’s travelling much too fast, and so it will just fly out the other side of the solar system," he added.

According to NASA, the closest 3I/Atlas will come to Earth is about 270 million kilometres.

Could it be something more than a natural object?

For most astronomers, 3I/ATLAS is an exciting but natural phenomenon. But one prominent scientist - Professor Avi Loeb, a theoretical astrophysicist at Harvard University - has advocated the need for a closer examination of the object.

Through the Galileo Project, which investigates potential evidence of extraterrestrial technology, Loeb has been asking provocative, eyebrow-raising questions about 3I/ATLAS’s origin.

In a series of scientific essays published on Medium, he argues that scientists should still consider whether the object could be an alien technological - an artificial probe or artefact from another civilisation.

In one essay titled “Does 3I/ATLAS Generate Its Own Light?”, Loeb questioned whether its brightness might stem from self-luminosity rather than reflected sunlight - a property unlike any known comet.

“The hypothesis in question is that the recent interstellar visitor to our Solar System, 3I/ATLAS1-10, is a technological artefact, and furthermore has active intelligence. If this is the case, then two possibilities follow: first, that its intentions are entirely benign, and second, they are malign, or somewhere in between," he wrote in a paper titled “Is the interstellar object 3I/ATLAS alien technology?”

"The consequences, should the hypothesis turn out to be correct, could potentially be dire for humanity, and would possibly require defensive measures,” he warned.

NASA has firmly rejected Loeb's perspective.

“It looks like a comet. It does comet things. It very, very strongly resembles, in just about every way, the comets that we know,” Tom Statler, NASA’s lead scientist for solar system small bodies, told The Guardian.

Loeb has since acknowledged in a blog post that “the simplest hypothesis is that 3I/ATLAS is a comet,” clarifying that his goal was to challenge assumptions rather than make firm claims.

“Let us instead maintain our childhood curiosity and seek evidence rather than pretend to be the adults in the room that know the answers in advance,” he wrote.

Will we be able to see 3I/ATLAS?

The comet will reach its closest approach to the Sun around 30 October, coming within 1.4 au (about 130 million miles), just inside Mars’ orbit.

Its size and physical properties are still being studied, but NASA says it should become visible again through ground-based telescopes in early December, once it re-emerges from behind the Sun.

• This story was updated on 30 October with NASA's confirmation that it is a comet.

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01-11-2025 om 20:32 geschreven door peter  

Unusual object near Earth turns out to be dead Soviet satellite

Ivan Hrinko

The Universe is full of mysteries. But the most interesting ones sometimes have a perfectly rational origin. Harvard astronomer Avi Loeb, known for his unusual hypotheses, has once again surprised the scientific community. This time, he suggested that the recently discovered second neighbor of Earth may not be an asteroid, but a lost relic of Soviet cosmonautics.

Mysterious quasi-satellite

In August, astronomers discovered object 2025 PN7, a small body temporarily orbiting the Sun in an orbit similar to Earth’s. Such objects are called quasi-satellites. However, Loeb offered a sensational explanation: it could be the remnant of the Soviet Zond-1 mission, launched to Venus in April 1964. The spacecraft, which was supposed to be the first landing module on Venus, disappeared into the depths of space due to technical malfunctions.

To prove his theory, Loeb and his colleague Adam Giberd recreated the flight path of Zond 1. Comparing it with the orbit of 2025 PN7, the researchers concluded that they could be related. According to their version, the spacecraft, while attempting to reach Venus, entered a solar orbit and now, half a century later, has returned to Earth as a “secondary moon.” An alternative explanation is that it is the upper stage of the launch vehicle that carried Zond 1 into space.

Space relics

This idea is not as fantastical as it seems. In 2020, object 2020 SO, initially mistaken for an asteroid, turned out to be the upper stage of the Centaur rocket from NASA’s Surveyor 2 mission, launched in 1966. For more than 50 years, this man-made ghost traveled through the Solar System before it was identified.

Loeb suggests a simple way to test the hypothesis: conduct a spectral analysis of 2025 PN7. The chemical composition of the object’s surface will instantly reveal its origin: natural or technological. If it is indeed “Sonda-1,” we will have a unique opportunity to study an artifact from the early space age that has made a remarkable return home.

Earlier, we explained in detail about such things as quasi-satellites and where to look for them.

• According to medium.com

• Posted in News, TechTaggedEarth,orbit,satellites,spacecraft

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31-10-2025 om 23:15 geschreven door peter  

The mystery surrounding the interstellar visitor in our solar system has deepened after scientists spotted it making an unexpected maneuver as it approached the sun.

NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) has recorded the object, largely believed to be a comet, displaying 'non-gravitational acceleration' as it reached its closest point to the sun on October 29.

Simply put, that means it appears to have been pushed by a mysterious force as it moves around the sun.

This push could not be explained by gravity, so something else appears to be speeding up the comet and nudging it off its expected path, which some scientists believe could be a sign the object is a spacecraft with its own engine.

According to the JPL readings, the interstellar object, known as 3I/ATLAS, experienced two main parts in this mysterious maneuver around our sun, one that pushed it away from the star and one which nudged it slightly to the side.

Most scientists have continued to call it an ordinary comet from a distant solar system with a unique chemical makeup that makes it appear different from space rocks that formed inside our solar system.

Harvard physicist Avi Loeb noted that most comets get a little push when their ice turns to gas and shoots out like a jet as they approach the sun, called the 'rocket effect.'

However, 3I/ATLAS is showing way more of a push than expected, adding to the growing list of strange occurrences astronomers have witnessed as the visitor swings around the sun.

The comet has been seen accelerating beyond the natural power of gravity as it moves around the sun

It made its closest approach to the sun on Wednesday, as seen by NASA spacecraft

The object has also been getting much brighter as it nears the sun, and did it approximately 7.5 times faster than normal comets.

Moreover, most comets turn red because their surface is so cold that they absorb blue light and bounce back mostly red light, just like a cold piece of metal glows red when you start heating it.

In the case of 3I/ATLAS, however, astronomers have watched the alleged comet turn bluer than the sun as it reached perihelion, its closest point to the star.

There still could be a natural explanation for these abnormalities, as Loeb said the comet might be losing a huge amount of mass as ice boils off violently during its journey.

To create this kind of color change, 3I/ATLAS would need to have lost about 10 percent of its weight in just one month, causing a giant cloud of gas around it, which telescopes should see in November and December.

However, Loeb said that the non-gravitational push and blue coloring could also come from a hot engine and artificial light beaming from inside the object.

'The observed features are surprising but could be explained in both natural or artificial scenarios,' Loeb told the Daily Mail on Friday.

'The blue color could be a signature of ionized carbon monoxide or a hot engine. The non-gravitational acceleration could be a result of cometary evaporation or technological propulsion,' the professor explained.

3I/ATLAS is expected to make its closest approach to Earth on December 19

3I/ATLAS is widely thought to be a comet, but scientists like Professor Avi Loeb maintain that unusual clues point to the object being a spacecraft

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•  NASA goes dark hours before first look at interstellar object moving closer to Earth 

Loeb has called the latest strange readings from 3I/ATLAS the ninth anomaly detected as the object makes its way through our solar system.

The scientist said his first clue that something wasn't adding up was the sheer brightness of the object while it was still far away from our planet and the sun.

It also developed a backward 'anti-tail' that was facing the sun before it reached perihelion.

However, it then swiftly shifted to a normal tail behind the supposed comet as it moved closer, which some have suggested could be a sign of a spacecraft engine reversing thrust.

Its strange course taking it close to three planets and its unique chemical combination of nickel and carbon dioxide have all contributed to a growing belief that 3I/ATLAS is not a floating space rock.

Before discovering the ninth oddity, Loeb calculated that the odds of all these strange occurrences happening at the same time were one in 10,000,000,000,000,000 (that's ten quadrillion).

Loeb previously told the Daily Mail that those in the scientific community who have dismissed the more extraordinary possibilities are more concerned with being right and avoiding criticism than alerting the public to a potentially world-changing event.

'Here we are talking about a potential for something that could affect humanity in the future in a dramatic way, and so you shouldn't apply the same approach of being as conservative as possible,' Loeb explained.

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31-10-2025 om 22:24 geschreven door peter  

Interstellar visitor reappears from the sun's shadow with baffling glow unlike natural comets

By STACY LIBERATORE, US SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY EDITOR

A mysterious interstellar visitor has emerged from behind the sun, glowing in a way that has left scientists stunned.

The comet, which is not visible from terrestrial telescopes, appears to have unusual chemistry. It passed through solar conjunction with Earth - meaning it was hidden behind the sun - on October 21.

It is exciting for scientists because, unlike other comets, it does not orbit the sun.

The object, named as 3I/ATLAS, made its closest approach to it on Wednesday, observed by three NASA spacecraft.

Data showed that it brightened at a rate about seven times faster than typical comets as it reached the sun. 

Researchers who captured the observations noted: 'The reason for 3I/ATLAS's rapid brightening, which far exceeds the brightening rate of most Oort cloud comets at similar distances from the sun, remains unclear.' 

Even more puzzling, the comet now appears distinctly bluer, a reversal from its previously reddish hue.

Scientists speculate that the blue glow likely comes from gas emissions, including carbon molecules (C2) and other compounds, rather than just sunlight reflecting off dust. 

The object made its closest approach to the sun on Wednesday, as seen by NASA spacecraft

The study, conducted by researchers from the Lowell Observatory in Arizona and the US Naval Research Laboratory in Washington, DC, pulled data from the STEREO‑A (Solar TErrestrial RElations Observatory) and SOHO (Solar and Heliospheric Observatory).

They also used a weather satellite, called GOES‑19, carrying a coronagraph, a device which helped capture the comet's brightness and color while it was hidden behind the Sun from Earth-based telescopes.

It detected a glowing plume extending nearly 186,000 miles around the object, comparable to the carbon dioxide halo observed months earlier.

The satellite revealed that 3I/ATLAS is enveloped in a huge, fuzzy coma, roughly half as wide as the full moon. 

Ground-based telescopes had trouble observing 3I/ATLAS. At the same time, it was very close to the sun, but radio observations were able to detect emissions from the comet, showing it was producing huge amounts of water-related molecules. 

The production rate of these molecules increased sharply as the comet approached the Sun, following a pattern similar to the rapid brightening observed in optical images. 

The comet is expected to return to visibility in twilight and night skies during November and December, allowing ground-based telescopes to study it in much greater detail. 

Early analysis suggests 3I/ATLAS will emerge considerably brighter than before.

Its light was increasing at an unusually rapid pace, which could be due to its chemical make-up

Scientists still do not fully understand why it brightened so fast, but it may be related to unusual activity from gases like carbon dioxide (CO2) and water (H2O), or unique properties of the comet's nucleus, such as its composition, shape, or structure. 

Observations from spacecraft also show that 3I/ATLAS has a large, fuzzy coma about half the size of the full moon, and its light is distinctly bluer than the sun, likely due to gas emissions from molecules like C2 and Amino groups, rather than just reflected sunlight from dust.

Its brightness increased much faster than typical comets, with a measured rate far exceeding the standard for Oort cloud comets, and the post-perihelion behavior remains uncertain; it could continue brightening, level off, or fade quickly. 

Harvard professor Avi Loeb, who has been studying the object for months, said: 'This unfavorable geometry, a possible hint of design, placed the comet within the fields of view of several space-based solar coronagraphs and heliospheric imagers, allowing continuous observation during its final approach to perihelion.' 

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30-10-2025 om 21:07 geschreven door peter  

Astronomers have released a spectacular new image of the Milky Way, providing a glimpse of our galaxy in unprecedented detail.

The photograph, which took 18 months and over 40,000 hours to construct, is the largest low–frequency radio colour image of the Milky Way ever assembled.

It captures the Southern Hemisphere view, revealing it across a wide range of radio wavelengths – or 'colours' of radio light.

And it provides astronomers with new ways to explore the birth, evolution and death of stars in our galaxy.

The stunning picture was created by astronomers from the International Centre of Radio Astronomy Research (ICRAR).

'This vibrant image delivers an unparalleled perspective of our galaxy at low radio frequencies,' Silvia Mantovanini, a PhD student at the Curtin University of ICRAR said.

'It provides valuable insights into the evolution of stars, including their formation in various regions of the galaxy, how they interact with other celestial objects, and ultimately their demise.'

Ms Mantovanini constructed the image with the help of supercomputers which processed and compiled data from two extensive surveys carried out by the Murchison Widefield Array telescope in Western Australia.

The new spectacular image of the Milky Way, providing a glimpse of our galaxy in unprecedented detail

The photograph, which took 18 months and over 40,000 hours to construct, is the largest low–frequency radio colour image of the Milky Way ever assembled

It provides astronomers with new ways to explore the birth, evolution and death of stars in our galaxy

The astronomers focused on radio waves because they reveal a different part of the universe that visible light cannot show – allowing them to see through gas and dust clouds to observe the birth of stars and the structures of galaxies.

When compared to images constructed from visible light, the radio frequency photograph reveals the galaxy in much clearer, more colourful detail.

The new image offers twice the resolution, 10 times the sensitivity and covers twice the area compared to a previous radio wavelength image released in 2019.

This significant improvement in resolution, sensitivity and sky coverage allows for a more detailed and comprehensive study of the Milky Way, the team said.

Ms Mantovanini's research focuses on supernova remnants, the expanding clouds of gas and energy left behind when a star explodes at the end of its life.

Although hundreds of these remnants have been discovered so far, astronomers suspect that thousands more are waiting to be found.

The image allows them to distinguish between the gas surrounding new stars and that left behind by dead ones, revealing clearer patterns in the cosmic landscape.

'You can clearly identify remnants of exploded stars, represented by large red circles,' she said. 'The smaller blue regions indicate stellar nurseries where new stars are actively forming.'

Left: The centre of our Milky Way in radio colour. Right: The same area of sky as seen in visible light

Antennas from the MWA telescope, on Wajarri Country in Western Australia, which carried out the two extensive surveys

 The image may also help unravel the mysteries surrounding pulsars in our Galaxy.

By measuring the brightness of pulsars at different GLEAM–X frequencies, astronomers hope to gain a deeper understanding of how these enigmatic objects emit radio waves and where they exist within our galaxy.

Associate Professor Natasha Hurley–Walker from the same ICRAR team, who is the principal investigator of the GLEAM–X survey, emphasised how this is a big step forward in studying the Milky Way's structure. 

'This low–frequency image allows us to unveil large astrophysical structures in our Galaxy that are difficult to image at higher frequencies,' she said. 

'No low–frequency radio image of the entire Southern Galactic Plane has been published before, making this an exciting milestone in astronomy.'

The new image was published in the journal Publications of the Astronomical Society of Australia.

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29-10-2025 om 22:48 geschreven door peter  

Everything we know about 3I/ATLAS: The mysterious object speeding through our Solar System

While most scientists believe it’s a natural comet, one Harvard astronomer has suggested its unusual features could hint at signs of alien technology.

3I/ATLAS is largely believed to be a comet - it has a tail, is brightening as it approaches the Sun, and shows signs of dust and gas being released.

Its name was derived from its origins: “3” for the third interstellar object found, “I” for interstellar, and “ATLAS” for the telescope network that spotted it.

What makes it extraordinary is where it came from. Its speed and trajectory show that it’s not gravitationally bound to the Sun - meaning it must have originated in another star system and wandered into ours by chance.

How fast is it travelling and where is it going?

According to astronomers, 3I/ATLAS is racing through space at more than 200,000 km/h (around 61 km per second), and its speed is increasing as it approaches the Sun.

It’s following a hyperbolic orbit, which means that it’s moving too quickly to be captured by the Sun’s gravity.

“It’s going to kind of cruise through the inner solar system – in between Mars and Earth’s orbit – and then it will fly past the sun," Con Stoitsis, comet and meteor director at the Astronomical Society of Victoria, told The Guardian.

"This one is on what we call a hyperbolic orbit. So it’s not gravitationally bound to the sun. It’s travelling much too fast, and so it will just fly out the other side of the solar system," he added.

According to NASA, the closest 3I/Atlas will come to Earth is about 270 million kilometres.

Could it be something more than a natural object?

For most astronomers, 3I/ATLAS is an exciting but natural phenomenon. But one prominent scientist - Professor Avi Loeb, a theoretical astrophysicist at Harvard University - has advocated the need for a closer examination of the object.

Through the Galileo Project, which investigates potential evidence of extraterrestrial technology, Loeb has been asking provocative, eyebrow-raising questions about 3I/ATLAS’s origin.

In a series of scientific essays published on Medium, he argues that scientists should still consider whether the object could be an alien technological - an artificial probe or artefact from another civilisation.

In one essay titled “Does 3I/ATLAS Generate Its Own Light?”, Loeb questioned whether its brightness might stem from self-luminosity rather than reflected sunlight - a property unlike any known comet.

“The hypothesis in question is that the recent interstellar visitor to our Solar System, 3I/ATLAS1-10, is a technological artefact, and furthermore has active intelligence. If this is the case, then two possibilities follow: first, that its intentions are entirely benign, and second, they are malign, or somewhere in between," he wrote in a paper titled “Is the interstellar object 3I/ATLAS alien technology?”

"The consequences, should the hypothesis turn out to be correct, could potentially be dire for humanity, and would possibly require defensive measures,” he warned.

NASA has firmly rejected Loeb's perspective.

“It looks like a comet. It does comet things. It very, very strongly resembles, in just about every way, the comets that we know,” Tom Statler, NASA’s lead scientist for solar system small bodies, told The Guardian.

Loeb has since acknowledged in a blog post that “the simplest hypothesis is that 3I/ATLAS is a comet,” clarifying that his goal was to challenge assumptions rather than make firm claims.

“Let us instead maintain our childhood curiosity and seek evidence rather than pretend to be the adults in the room that know the answers in advance,” he wrote.

Will we be able to see 3I/ATLAS?

The comet will reach its closest approach to the Sun around 30 October, coming within 1.4 au (about 130 million miles), just inside Mars’ orbit.

Its size and physical properties are still being studied, but NASA says it should become visible again through ground-based telescopes in early December, once it re-emerges from behind the Sun.

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29-10-2025 om 22:18 geschreven door peter  

Probes could catch tail of Manhattan-sized space object 3I/ATLAS, but time is running out: report

A pair of space probes cruising the solar system may be able to pass through the tail of the mysterious Manhattan-sized comet hurtling towards Earth — but only if the scientists operating them act fast to divert-course.

The probes — Hera and Europa Clipper — are both speeding on separate missions, but a new paper being published in the Research Notes of the American Astronomical Society found they are perfectly poised to pay a visit to the remains of 3I/ATLAS being dispersed across the solar system.

Both probes will be flying “downwind” of 3I/ATLAS as it cruises through the cosmic neighborhood in the next few weeks and leaves a trail of particles in its wake, Live Science reported, giving researchers the opportunity to fly directly through a comet’s tail for first time in history.

The probe Europa Clipper is on the way to Jupiter’s moon, but could pass through the comet’s tail if scientists act fast.

Nasa

NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope observed interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS on Aug. 6, with its near-Infrared spectrograph instrument.

NASA/James Webb Space Telescope

The probes wouldn’t be flying straight through the tail, however, but across a field where its particles are expected to be blown into space by the Sun’s solar wind.

That dispersal field would be about 5 million miles from the comet itself, but would still be plenty close for the probes to collect invaluable information from the particles it leaves behind.

3I/ATLAS has left scientists puzzled since it was first spotted in June. Though few have disputed that it is anything but a comet, its irregular behavior and make-up have some like Harvard astrophysicist Avi Loeb speculating it could be an intelligently-operated alien probe.

It is expected to fly closest to the Earth by the end of October, but will be hidden behind the sun and impossible for Earthen telescopes and cameras to get a good look at it.

The object is also ejecting a nickel alloy only ever found in human manufacturing, and previously emitted an “anti-tail” from its front that Loeb speculated could be some kind of “braking thrust” system.

Hera and Europa Clipper could be science’s best bet to gather information from the object.

But they will only be in that position over the next two weeks, and scientists would need to act immediately to send them on course to meet the comet’s tail, according to Live Science.

Hera may not even be able to be of much help. The probe is currently headed to study an asteroid and isn’t equipped with instruments that could do much reading of 3I/ATLAS’ particles.

But Europa Clipper — which is on the way to analyze ice on Jupiter’s moon Europa — has exactly the kind of instruments the job would call for.

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29-10-2025 om 21:59 geschreven door peter  

Mysterious interstellar visitor set to reveal its true self in just HOURS

• MORE: Scientists reveal all the strange behaviors of interstellar visitor 3I/ATLAS that deepen the mystery of its origins

By CHRIS MELORE, US ASSISTANT SCIENCE EDITOR

The mysterious interstellar visitor traveling through our solar system may finally reveal its true nature in just hours, as scientists wait for it to emerge from behind the sun.  

While many astronomers are convinced the object known as 3I/ATLAS will be confirmed as a comet, some scientists have said the three-mile-long visitor could be an artificially constructed craft that's maneuvering around the solar system.

3I/ATLAS has been obscured by the sun since last week, but it will reach its closest point, called the perihelion, on October 29.

Scientists expect to determine which scenario is correct once they observe exactly where the object exits perihelion, saying that a noticeable shift in its trajectory tomorrow could indicate that 3I/ATLAS is artificially powered.

In space travel, the most effective moment to accelerate or decelerate a spacecraft is when it is closest to a massive body. Firing the engine at this point, an effect known as the Oberth effect, produces the greatest change in speed.

The majority of astronomers have maintained that 3I/ATLAS is simply a strange space rock from a distant solar system that formed under conditions completely foreign to comets in our solar system.

Studies of the interstellar visitor to this point have shown the classic signs of 3I/ATLAS being a comet, including a tail and a coma, a large cloud of gas and dust surrounding it.

However, some researchers have argued that there are still too many irregularities to overlook, including 3I/ATLAS appearing to reverse thrust like a spacecraft as it moved behind the sun from our perspective.

Astronomers observed 3I/ATLAS strangely shift the position of its tail as it approached our sun in October 2025

3I/ATLAS (Pictured) is expected to reach its closest point to the sun on October 29, and a change in its position as it leaves this blind spot could be a sign of intelligence

Harvard physicist Avi Loeb has argued since the object's discovery that 3I/ATLAS could be an 'alien mothership' which could be positioning itself in this blind spot to either change direction or release smaller probes before continuing on its journey.

Loeb said 3I/ATLAS could be completing a maneuver known as the Oberth effect to change its speed and path, which would be a sign that it has an engine and was being controlled by an unknown intelligence.

Astronomers tracking 3I/ATLAS revealed last week that the object performed a dramatic tail reversal, shifting from an unusual 'anti-tail' that was pointing towards the sun to one that was pointing away.

High-resolution observations from the Nordic Optical Telescope in the Canary Islands confirm that this anti-tail seen in July and August 2025 vanished and a new one formed in the opposite direction by September.

The shift is believed to have occurred because the comet's dust and ice particles reacted differently to sunlight.

Early on, large, slow-moving dust grains scattered light sunward, creating the anti-tail.

As 3I/ATLAS moved closer to the sun, rising temperatures ejected more ice fragments and longer-lived dust particles, producing the tail that now points away like a traditional comet moving through space.

However, Loeb has noted that 3I/ATLAS shed very little of its mass as it has moved closer to the sun, meaning the true nature of the object's chemical makeup is still a mystery.

3I/ATLAS is widely thought to be a comet, but scientists like Professor Avi Loeb maintain that unusual clues point to the object being a spacecraft

3I/ATLAS appears to be coated in nickel, which astronomers believe is responsible for giving the object a green glow

Through October 2025, the supposed comet has seen about two million tons melt away as it approached the sun, which is just a tiny fraction of the 33billion tons Loeb has calculated the giant object to weigh.

• Mysterious interstellar object is morphing in unexplained ways as it moves closer to Earth

Moreover, Loeb told the Daily Mail that scientists still can't explain how 3I/ATLAS is releasing nickel in a gaseous form as it moves around the sun.

'Nobody understands how nickel can be released into the gas form, because you need a special process for that, and the temperatures are not high enough to release the nickel, so that's a puzzle,' Loeb explained.

Nickel is a metal used by Earth-made space technology to shield against the extreme heat from booster engines, and 3I/ATLAS seems to be coated in it.

Until now, astronomers have only seen nickel alongside deposits of iron in nature, but Loeb noted that there have been no signs of iron in 3I/ATLAS at all. 

'That is unprecedented in comets. So, it's not so much the existence of nickel. It's the nickel without iron, which we only know about in the context of nickel alloys that we produce industrially for spacecraft,' the professor added.

While Loeb said any drastic change in 3I/ATLAS speed, course, or size when it emerges from the sun would be a clear sign of intelligence, other scientists still believe these changes still fall in line with normal comet behavior.

Austrian astronomer Michael Jäger told Daily Mail: 'Even though there were some unusual things about this comet, I still assume that we are observing a comet here.' 

'This is because 3I/ATLAS has not changed its course or its calculated speed so far,' Jäger continued.

The scientist added that even if the interstellar object splits apart as it emerges from the sun, that's not uncommon for comets, which have been observed breaking apart as they travel through space. 

'A split of a comet would not be so unusual. Just a few weeks ago, the split of comet 240P/NEAT was confirmed,' Jäger concluded.

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28-10-2025 om 23:01 geschreven door peter  

Astronomer Scott Sheppard discovered 2025 SC79, marked here in two images showing its motion relative to background stars. 

Credit: Photographs courtesy of Scott S. Sheppar

Discovered by Carnegie Science astronomer Scott S. Sheppard, 2025 SC79 completes its journey around the Sun every 128 days, making it the second-fastest asteroid known in our Solar System.

A Stealthy, High-Speed Space Object

2025 SC79 is unique for reasons other than its difficult-to-spot location and high-speed trips around the Sun. It also happens to be the second object astronomers have discovered that has an orbit inside of Venus.

In the images above, 2025 SC79 can be seen moving relative to background stars on the night of its discovery

(images courtesy of Scott Sheppard/Carnegie Science).

The unique asteroid also traverses the orbit of Mercury during its speeding Solar journeys, making its speed second only to a 2021 discovery—also made by Sheppard and his colleagues—which revealed asteroid 2021 PH27.

2021 PH27 also has one of the shortest orbital periods of any known space object, second only to planet Mercury. Due to the extreme proximity to the Sun of objects like it and the newly discovered 2025 SC79, they undergo the most extreme relativistic effects of any objects known to exist in our Solar System.

According to a statement accompanying the discovery, Carnegie Science’s Magellan telescope, as well as the National Science Foundation’s Gemini telescope, were used to confirm the detection of 2025 SC79.

Hidden Threats Near the Sun

Sheppard is uniquely positioned to make such discoveries, since his work focuses on objects like planetary moons, so-called “dwarf planets,” and asteroids. However, with the discovery of these lurking space objects hidden in the Sun’s glare, which astronomers sometimes call “twilight” asteroids, his work also plays a fundamental role in the detection of objects that are potentially at risk of impacting the Earth.

One of the most notable examples of a space object taking Earth off guard with its approach from the direction of the Sun was the 2013 Chelyabinsk meteor event, which was famously documented by dash cameras in vehicles and other cameras while going unseen by astronomers. Of course, coming from the direction of the Sun makes it very difficult—if not impossible—for such objects to be detected beforehand while obscured by the powerful glare.

The event served as a wake-up call for astronomers and prompted planetary defense efforts like those now conducted by Sheppard to help reduce the likelihood that we will be taken off guard by the arrival of such objects in the future.

“The most dangerous asteroids are the most difficult to detect,” Sheppard recently said.

Twilight Asteroids

“Most asteroid research finds these objects in the dark of night, where they are easiest to spot,” he says, although “twilight” asteroids draw their nickname from being objects that can only be observed during twilight due to their proximity to the Sun.

“If these ‘twilight’ asteroids approach Earth, they could pose serious impact hazards,” he says.

In Sheppard’s work, which receives funding from NASA, the National Science Foundation’s Blanco 4-meter telescope and its specialized Dark Energy Camera is employed to search for any potentially deadly asteroids that may similarly be lurking in the Sun’s glare.

Beyond the detection of potential “planet killers” hiding near the Sun, the research also contributes significant information about the formation of our Solar System and its current makeup.

Future Observations and Possible Origins

Presently, 2025 SC79 is on its making its way behind the Sun, where, just like the interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS, it will remain invisible to astronomers for the next several weeks.

However, future observations will help astronomers like Sheppard reveal clues about 2025 SC79’s composition, as well as how the object can withstand the imposing heat produced by the Sun at such close distances.

Sheppard says that a large number of similar objects in our Solar System inhabit one of two primary asteroid belts, although changes that occasionally occur with them can sometimes send objects into much closer orbits, which makes them even more difficult to detect.

“Understanding how they arrived at these locations can help us protect our planet,” Sheppard says, “and also help us learn more about Solar System history.”

• Micah Hanks is the Editor-in-Chief and Co-Founder of The Debrief. A longtime reporter on science, defense, and technology with a focus on space and astronomy, he can be reached at micah@thedebrief.org. Follow him on X @MicahHanks, and at micahhanks.com.

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27-10-2025 om 22:45 geschreven door peter  

Imagine this, a glowing orb anywhere from the size of a golf ball to a basketball floating silently through the air, or even through walls, and lasting for up to a minute or more. 

Daily Mail's Shivali Best explores the bizarre weather phenomenon that has baffled scientists for 750 years.

Click above to watch in full. 

Ball lightning is one of the strangest and least understood weather phenomena on Earth. It is a glowing orb anywhere from the size of a golf ball to a basketball floating silently through the air, or even through walls, and lasting for up to a minute or more.

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27-10-2025 om 21:31 geschreven door peter  

Two spacecraft will pass right through comet 3I/ATLAS' tail

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25-10-2025 om 23:08 geschreven door peter  

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25-10-2025 om 22:51 geschreven door peter  

An interstellar comet is dramatically jetting off ice and dust into space, a new image shows.

The comet, called 3I/ATLAS, is sending out a jet of material towards the sun as our nearest star warms up some of its surface. The composite image shows the nucleus or icy, rocky central core of 3I/ATLAS as a large and black dot, along with a white glow — the comet's coma, or atmosphere. The jet is marked in purple and is blasting off towards the direction of the sun, which is typical behavior of comets in the solar system as well.

3I/ATLAS is only the third known interstellar object that has come through our solar system, and is rapidly hurtling towards the sun for its closest approach on Oct. 30. The comet will come within 1.8 astronomical units (sun-Earth distances) of our planet, making it visible in small telescopes before disappearing again into the dark.

Astronomers received notice of the jet Oct. 15 in the Astronomer's Telegram, an announcement service for the astronomy community with editor-in-chief Robert Rutledge, an associate professor at Montreal's McGill University.

Footage of the jet was captured on Aug. 2, and combines 159 exposures of 50 seconds each. It was taken with the Two-meter Twin Telescope at Teide Observatory in Tenerife, which is in the Canary Islands.

"This is the usual," Miquel Serra-Ricart, astrophysicist and chief science officer at the Light Bridges private research institution, which co-manages Teide, told our sister site LiveScience in an email. Serra-Ricart was the individual who posted the new images, which are not yet peer-reviewed; he pointed out that the comet’s tail is also pointing away from the sun, which is typical of these icy objects.

While comets do warm up when they get close to the sun, they don't warm up in all spots in the same fashion. The areas facing the sun heat up fastest, and if there is a weaker area on the surface of the comet, sublimated gases under the surface can burst through — causing these sun-facing jets.

A view of comet 3I/ATLAS taken by the Gemini South Telescope.

(Image credit: International Gemini Observatory/NOIRLab/NSF/AURA/Shadow the Scientist.

Image Processing: J. Miller & M. Rodriguez (

International Gemini Observatory/NSF NOIRLab)/T.A. Rector (University of Alaska Anchorage/NSF NOIRLab)/M. Zamani (NSF NOIRLab).)

Serra-Ricart estimated the jet could be as far as 6,200 miles (10,000 km) from 3I/ATLAS' surface, which is more than twice the equivalent distance across the largest part of the United States. The jet is likely made up of carbon dioxide and dust particles—just like what was spotted by NASA's James Webb Space Telescope back in August.

These jets can begin to fan out as the nucleus of the comet rotates. Some of the material will stay in the coma, while the rest will fall into the comet's tail after pressure from the sun — known as the solar wind — forces it there. Solar system comet C/2020 F3 NEOWISE, which was visible to the naked eye, showed just that kind of behavior back in 2020 in Hubble Space Telescope images.

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25-10-2025 om 20:33 geschreven door peter