Washington [US], November 20 (ANI): The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) has dismissed widespread rumors suggesting that unusual behavior observed in interstellar object 3I/ATLAS indicates it could be an alien spacecraft, confirming instead that it is a natural comet from beyond our solar system.
In a blog post on Wednesday, the agency confirmed that 3I/ATLAS—the third interstellar object ever detected—will make its closest approach to Earth on December 19 at a distance of approximately 170 million miles, nearly twice the distance between Earth and the Sun. NASA is currently monitoring the comet closely as it passes through the inner solar system.
Despite social media speculation linking the comet to extraterrestrial activity, NASA reaffirmed that 3I/ATLAS is a natural celestial object. It is now being observed by a record number of spacecraft and telescopes across the solar system.
Discovered on July 1 by NASA’s ATLAS (Asteroid Terrestrial-impact Last Alert System) telescope in Chile, the comet is the focus of an unprecedented, solar system-wide observing campaign involving 12 NASA spacecraft and space telescopes.
Following the discovery, conspiracy theories and speculation about the comet’s behavior quickly spread online, fueling claims that it might be a sign of alien life. However, scientists say the opportunity to observe 3I/ATLAS from multiple vantage points will help them study its composition and trajectory, shedding light on how interstellar objects differ from comets formed within our own solar system.
NASA missions at Mars—including the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, MAVEN, and the Perseverance rover—captured some of the closest images of the comet when it passed just 19 million miles from the Red Planet. Heliophysics missions such as STEREO, SOHO, and the newly launched PUNCH mission observed the object as it passed behind the Sun, beyond the reach of Earth-based telescopes.
The Hubble Space Telescope, the James Webb Space Telescope, and SPHEREx also collected detailed images of the comet in July and August. Meanwhile, NASA’s Psyche and Lucy spacecraft, currently en route to study asteroids, provided additional observations that helped refine the comet’s trajectory and analyze its coma and tail from millions of miles away.
3I/ATLAS will continue its path past the orbit of Jupiter in the spring of 2026. NASA will keep gathering data throughout its journey to maximize scientific understanding of this rare visitor from another solar system. (ANI)
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