NASA has finally unveiled new images of the interstellar object 3I/ATLAS on Wednesday, offering a closer look at the comet, while addressing speculation that it could be an alien spacecraft.
First observed in July by the ATLAS telescope in Rio Hurtado, Chile, 3I/ATLAS has drawn attention for its unusual trajectory, indicating it is passing through our solar system from unknown origins. Scientists have tracked the object ever since, studying it with more than a dozen platforms including the Hubble and James Webb space telescopes.
"It's natural to wonder what it is. We love that the world wondered along with us," says Nicola Fox, NASA's associate administrator for the Science Mission Directorate. She describes the object as "our friendly solar system visitor" and confirms that no unusual signals or "technosignatures" have been detected.
NASA Associate Administrator Amit Kshatriya directly addresses the speculation about alien origins: "This object is a comet. It looks and behaves like a comet. All evidence points to it being a comet." He emphasizes that while NASA is actively searching for signs of life in the universe, 3I/ATLAS poses no threat to Earth, passing no closer than about 170 million miles.
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The newly released images show the comet's nucleus shrouded in a hazy coma with a trailing dust tail, characteristic of comets warming as they approach a star. Based on Hubble data, scientists estimate the nucleus measures between a couple of thousand feet to a few miles in diameter and is nearly spherical.
3I/ATLAS is only the third interstellar object ever observed in our solar system, after 1I/'Oumuamua in 2017 and 2I/Borisov in 2019. Its composition (primarily carbon dioxide, water, carbon monoxide, cyanide, and nickel) resembles that of comets within our own solar system, though some variations suggest it formed in an older, chemically distinct solar system.
Astronomers worldwide have studied 3I/ATLAS extensively. University of Oxford astrophysicist Chris Lintott also dismisses alien theories outright: "The idea that 3I/ATLAS could be an alien spacecraft is simply nonsense. There's nothing about it that suggests such a thing."
The comet reached its closest point to the sun in October and will make its nearest approach to Earth in about a month before continuing on its path out of the solar system, according to University of Hawaii astronomer Larry Denneau, co-principal investigator for ATLAS. And now, as you can see in the video above, NASA has finally released new images and responded to alien speculation, stating that "all evidence points to it being a comet".