E-Paper
NASA posts new photos of 3I/ATLAS comet amid spacecraft claims; Avi Loeb chips in
New Hubble images show the interstellar object in detail, amid claims by Harvard astrophysicist Avi Loeb that 3I/ATLAS could be more than a comet.
The Hubble Space Telescope (HST) captured more images of the 3I/ATLAS with its Wide Field Camera 3 as the comet travelled some 178 million miles from Earth on November 30.
This is Hubble's latest view, the newest in a string of observations since the object’s discovery in July 2025. Initial images from July captured a teardrop-shaped dust cocoon around a solid icy nucleus, clearly signalling comet-like activity.
These new pictures provide critical data to refine estimates of the comet’s nucleus size, activity levels (dust and gas emissions), and trajectory. Every re-observation helps reduce uncertainties and improve the modelling data of the object.
NASA released a press note in which they say that the comet continues on a hyperbolic and unbound trajectory. They are expecting to make more observations over the coming months, as 3I/ATLAS departs our Solar System.
Read more: 3I/ATLAS comet update: New questions emerge; NASA maintains interstellar claims
A natural interstellar comet
Over 20 spacecraft and telescopes from all over the Solar System had turned their instruments toward 3I/ATLAS by November 2025. Earth-orbiting observatories to orbiters around Mars were all focused on the object. The conclusion that the object "behaves like a comet" is overwhelmingly supported by the available data.
Specifically, recent spectroscopic data from the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) showed a coma dominated by dust, water ice, and other volatile molecules, as well as carbon dioxide, a characteristic of outgassing comets.
The comet’s non-gravitational acceleration, observed near perihelion, is consistent with jets of sublimating gases pushing out in a directed way. This is evidence enough that it exhibits typical comet-like behavior and is not an engineered spacecraft.
Read more: Harvard scientist explains 3I/ATLAS claims; comet underwent ‘sudden changes’
What does Avi Loeb claim?
The conviction from NASA and the images from the HST are not enough for some independent scientists.
Avi Loeb, noted Harvard astrophysicist, has argued on his Medium page that 3I/ATLAS displays a “heartbeat-like” periodic light variation, which he says could be consistent with artificial propulsion or internal mechanisms rather than natural comet outgassing.
They are sticking to the original argument of the irregular motion and have pointed to unexpected tail features. He describes this as an “anti-tail” or anomalous dust structures as further evidence that the object may be more than a simple rock sliding through space.
However, mainstream astronomers and space agencies have reiterated that there is no evidence of technosignatures (signs of alien technology) associated with 3I/ATLAS. For now, they say, it remains an interstellar comet.
Comet to disappear soon
3I/ATLAS is visiting our Solar System for the first time. It is only the third interstellar object ever confirmed and will be leaving our solar system soon.
There is a scramble to collect the last bit of data. Astronomers hope to learn more about how comets form around other stars, what materials they carry, and how they change under various chemical and radiation environments by studying them with Hubble, Webb, and a fleet of spacecraft.
