NASA releases new images of rare comet that sparked unfounded ‘alien’ debate

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The Hill
NASA releases new images of rare comet that sparked unfounded ‘alien’ debate
Lily Dallow
Thu, November 20, 2025 at 8:57 AM EST
4 min read



NASA releases new images of rare comet that sparked unfounded ‘alien’ debate


NASA on Wednesday released new images and data of Comet 3I/ATLAS, the rare interstellar object that set off weeks of speculation — and a full-blown online debate — over whether it could be an alien spacecraft.

The new imagery was unveiled during a live briefing at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center outside of Washington, D.C., where agency leaders directly addressed the controversy and reinforced that the object is natural.

“This object is a comet,” stated NASA Associate Administrator Amit Kshatriya. “But, it came from outside the solar system, which makes it fascinating.”

Kshatriya said the public excitement — much of which swirled during the government shutdown, when NASA was unable to comment — reflected how eager people are to engage with discoveries.

“It expanded people’s brains about how magical the universe could be,” he said. “We want very much to find signs of life in the universe… but, 3I/ATLAS is a comet.”



An ultraviolet image composite of the hydrogen atoms surrounding comet 3I/ATLAS, the third interstellar object ever detected by astronomers, as it passes through our solar system. This image was taken on Sept 28, 2025. (NASA/Goddard/LASP/CU Boulder)



Comet 3I/ATLAS appears as a bright object near the center of this image, made from combining observations from NASA’s PUNCH mission taken from Sept. 20 to Oct. 3, 2025, when the comet was about 231 million to 235 million miles from Earth. Its tail appears as a short elongation to the right. Stars appear as streaks in the background. (NASA/Southwest Research Institute)



This image shows the observation of comet 3I/ATLAS when it was discovered on July 1, 2025. The NASA-funded ATLAS survey telescope in Chile first reported that the comet originated from interstellar space. (ATLAS/University of Hawaii/NASA)



NASA’s SPHEREx (Spectro-Photometer for the History of the Universe, Epoch of Reionization and Ices Explorer) observed interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS Aug. 7 to Aug. 15. (NASA/SPHEREx)


The back-and-forth over what 3I/ATLAS is began after it was first detected in July.

The main scientist who suggested that the comet could be an alien technology is Dr. Avi Loeb, a Harvard astrophysicist. As evidence, Loeb pointed to the comet’s unique characteristics, including its unusual trajectory, which tracked closely to the alignment of planets in our solar system.

“There is no tail. More importantly, there is a glow in front of the object instead of behind it,” Loeb said earlier this year. “Zebra is identified by its stripes, right? How do you tell the difference between a horse and a zebra? It’s the stripes.”

“So, how do you tell a comet from a rock that doesn’t have any eyes? You tell it by the cometary tail,” he added.

Loeb has been frequently critical of the U.S. government for what he says is a lack of transparency on the issue of UFOs. He is also a bestselling author of the books “Extraterrestrial: The First Sign of Intelligent Life Beyond Earth” and “Interstellar: The Search for Extraterrestrial Life and Our Future in the Stars.”

“If 3I/ATLAS turns out to be a natural object, we will learn something new about interstellar comets,” he previously wrote. “But if it’s technological, we will learn something profound about our cosmic neighbors. Either way, the data should guide us—not our prejudices.”

NASA has since stressed that the comet poses no risk to Earth.

“3I/ATLAS is not a danger to us,” said Nicky Fox, head of NASA’s Science Mission Directorate.

The newly released images include fresh observations from NASA spacecraft and telescopes positioned across the solar system — including missions at Mars, Earth, and deep space — capturing the comet’s coma (the gassy cloud around it), trajectory, and brightness from multiple angles between September and October.

3I/ATLAS, discovered on July 1, is only the third confirmed interstellar object ever detected. It passed within 19 million miles of Mars in early October, giving NASA’s Mars missions a unique view, and will make its closest approach to Earth — about 170 million miles — next month.

Scientists say it will leave the solar system permanently after its current pass.

https://www.yahoo.com/news/articles/nasa-releases-images-rare-comet-135747986.html


I do wish someone would convey the explanation that must have been made as to why the teal top-on-its-side image looks like that...