The mysterious interstellar object 3I/ATLAS may not be behaving like any comet science has seen before - and one new image suggests it could be more like an alien spaceship than a natural ice-ball.
According to orbital data from NASA JPL, 3I/ATLAS experienced a clear "non-gravitational acceleration" around October 30 - shortly after it passed closest to the Sun. In basic terms, the object sped up when it shouldn't have, based on gravity alone.
That date is especially striking because theoretical physicist Michio Kaku had earlier warned that if an interstellar visitor ever got an "extra burst of energy", that could be a sign we were being visited.
A recently-released image from a Utah-based observatory appears to capture what many believe are the consequences of that speed boost. The photo reveals several puzzling and unnatural features, reports International Business Times.
With a bright, stable core, rather than the chaotic glow expected from a comet's outgassing, 3I/ATLAS shows a concentrated, stable point of light - resembling a controlled emission rather than a rough comet coma.
An "anti-tail" pointing toward the Sun is also unusual. Normally, a comet's tail is pushed away from the Sun by solar radiation. In this case, the plume seems to point yoward the Sun - exactly backwards from what physics says should happen.
A faint jet or shock-front appears off to the side of the main tail axis - something not expected on a natural comet. This feature has now been observed by three independent observers using different telescopes, meaning it's highly unlikely to be a photographic glitch.
Combine the energy boost, the weird tail geometry, the stable central glow and the sideways jet - and you have a set of behaviours that don't match any known comet. That has led some scientists, including Avi Loeb from Harvard, to raise the possibility that 3I/ATLAS is not a natural object after all.
Under the usual comet model, acceleration can come from jets of gas and dust being expelled by solar heat - but in 3I/ATLAS' case, the required outgassing would be enormous. To produce the measured boost, models suggest it would need to lose a large fraction of its mass - something not seen.
Additionally, the way the brightness and tail geometry remain stable over time - across multiple independent observations - is more consistent with a controlled emission or engineered structure than with a chaotic, naturally decaying comet.
If 3I/ATLAS is artificial, or at least not natural, then the coming weeks could prove critical. December 19, 2025, is expected to be its closest approach to Earth. That will be perhaps the best opportunity scientists have to observe it in detail and test competing theories.
However, some researchers have urged caution. Even if it behaves strangely, they warn against rushing to call it "alien". But for many, the convergence of data - its energy boost, strange tail and stable glow - makes 3I/ATLAS the most compelling candidate yet for an interstellar visitor of extraordinary origin.
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