Tag: space

3I/ATLAS Radio Signal Detections Offer New Confirmation of What Many Astronomers Have Been Saying for Months

New radio detections from the interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS have added to a growing number of observations that leave little question about the object’s natural origin.

The new data arrives amid ongoing speculation about whether the object’s odd trajectory and other unusual qualities could suggest it is of artificial origin, a theory that conflicts with the abundance of evidence presently obtained about the comet.

Collected by the MeerKAT radio telescope, the recent radio observations reveal distinctive hydroxyl absorption lines, which astronomers point to as only further solid evidence of cometary activity.

Lending additional clarification to the ongoing debate over the mysterious object and its unique natural properties, the new findings also help to dampen renewed interest in its possible technological origins generated in recent days, following the object’s apparent display of non-gravitational acceleration during its closest approach to the Sun last month.

Comprised of an array of radio telescopes in the Northern Cape province of South Africa, MeerKAT made its recent detections on October 24, according to the South African Radio Astronomy Observatory.

The observations revealed OH absorption at 1665 and 1667 MHz, which refers to the process astronomers use involving the detection of the hydroxyl radical (OH) molecule, which absorbs very specific radio or infrared frequencies from background sources. This results in a “dip” that astronomers identify as an absorption line in the observed spectrum.

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‘Alien ship’ releases ‘seven jets’ with ‘glowing halo’ as it nears sun

An alien expert claims that an interstellar object which is seemingly an “alien ship” with a “complex jet structure” and a “glowing halo” is passing by the sun.

The mysterious interstellar object, which has been dubbed 3I/ATLAS, was reportedly at 29 degrees separation from the Sun. Stacked images show a “large glowing halo extending out to half a million kilometres” with at least “7 distinct jets.” According to Harvard astrophysicist Avi Loeb, some of them are anti-tails in the sunward direction.

In an article published by Loeb, he wrote: “This morning, at 4.10 Universal Time (UT) on November 8, 2025, the interstellar object 3I/ATLAS showed a complex jet structure. M. Jäger, G. Rhemann and E. Prosperi observed 3I/ATLAS at 29 degrees separation from the Sun in the sky.”

He added: “The stacked images, constituting 24 exposures in the green filter, each lasting 35 seconds , 2 exposures in a red filter and 2 exposures in a blue filter, show a large glowing halo extending out to half a million kilometers (5 arcminutes).

“The images show at least 7 distinct jets, some of which are anti-tails in the sunward direction.

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LOST IN ORBIT: Chinese Astronauts Stranded in Tiangong Space Station After Debris Strikes Their Return Capsule

This is a distressing trend in space exploration.

No matter what our particular feelings about Communist China and their space program, it is worrying news to learn that a Chinese space crew is temporarily stranded at the Tiangong space station.

The astronauts – or rather, taikonauts – have been put in this dangerous situation after space debris struck their return capsule, according to China’s spaceflight agency.

Fox News reported:

“The three-member Shenzhou-20 team had been scheduled to return to Earth on Wednesday, but their mission has been temporarily extended as engineers conduct impact analysis and risk assessments on the damaged spacecraft, the China Manned Space Agency (CMSA) said in a statement.”

“The Shenzhou program regularly sends crews of three Chinese astronauts to and from the Tiangong space station for six-month missions, where they carry out tasks ranging from scientific experiments to repairing debris damage.

The Shenzhou-20 astronauts – mission commander Chen Dong, fighter pilot Chen Zhongrui and engineer Wang Jie – arrived at Tiangong in April for a six-month rotation. They were nearing the end of their mission when the issue occurred.”

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First Evidence for a Non-Gravitational Acceleration of 3I/ATLAS at Perihelion

By the date of its perihelion, 3I/ATLAS displayed the first evidence of a non-gravitational acceleration. The report (accessible here) was filed by Davide Farnoccia, a navigation engineer at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena who received his PhD in Mathematics from the Galileo Galilei School of Graduate studies at the University of Pisa, Italy.

The non-gravitational acceleration was measured at the perihelion distance of 1.36 times the Earth-Sun separation (defined as an astronomical unit or `au’), equivalent to 203 million kilometers. It had two components in the orbital plane of 3I/ATLAS:

· A radial acceleration away from the Sun of 135 kilometers (=9×10^{-7}au) per day squared.

· A transverse acceleration relative to the Sun’s direction of 60 kilometers (=4×10^{-7}au) per day squared.

If 3I/ATLAS is propelled by the rocket effect of ejected gas, then momentum conservation implies that the object would lose half its mass over a characteristic timescale equal to the ejection speed divided by the measured non-gravitational acceleration. For a thermal ejection speed of a few hundred meters per second, the evaporation half-life of 3I/ATLAS is 6 months. This implies that over the month it takes 3I/ATLAS to cross a spatial scale of order its perihelion separation from the Sun, 3I/ATLAS would lose about a tenth of its mass. Such a massive mass loss should be detectable in the form of a large plume of gas surrounding 3I/ATLAS during the upcoming months of November and December 2025.

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Did 3I/ATLAS Just Show Signs of Technology? Interstellar Object Displays ‘Non-Gravitational Motion’ as it Swings Past the Sun

A new report on the enigmatic interstellar visitor 3I/ATLAS has revealed deeper insights into the object’s behavior, which include signs of non-gravitational motion during its recent closest approach to the Sun.

Presently, most astronomers maintain that the space object, discovered in July 2025, is a natural comet, based on a growing body of data that confirms this interpretation. The object is the third known interstellar visitor that has entered our planetary neighborhood from another star system.

3I/ATLAS is also helping confirm data that suggests such objects probably make appearances far more frequently in our Solar System than previously known. With its glowing gassy envelope—what astronomers call a coma—and other key traits that have manifested as the object has moved closer to the Sun, little doubt has been left about the interstellar visitor’s identity as a natural object.

However, there are still some experts who interpret its recent activity as being noteworthy indicators—if additional related phenomena were to be confirmed in future observations—which some might expect to associate with objects of technological origin. So what does the latest data reveal, and why does it still have some astronomers divided over whether 3I/ATLAS might show signs associated with intelligent life?

What the New Report Reveals

A recent report by researcher Davide Farnoccia with NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory offers some of the latest data on the gravitational characteristics displayed by 3I/ATLAS during its journey through our Solar System.

Farnoccia specializes in the study of small objects and their orbits, which includes “nongravitational perturbations” some space objects display, as well as whether some near-Earth objects (NEOs) may pose an impact hazard to Earth.

According to Farnoccia’s report, 3I/ATLAS follows a hyperbolic orbit, displaying an eccentricity of e = 6.1373 (rounded). This figure is important, as it significantly exceeds the accepted value of 1 that astronomers recognize as being required to escape the Sun’s gravity. This means that the object’s trajectory confirms that 3I/ATLAS is not gravitationally bound to our Solar System, confirming astronomers’ suspicions that once it completes its recent planetary drive-by visit, the object will continue back into interstellar space.

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Mysterious Interstellar Object 3I/ATLAS “Comes Alive” Near the Sun — NASA on Alert

The much-anticipated interstellar visitor 3I/ATLAS has finally reached its closest approach to the Sun — and it’s doing things no natural object should. As telescopes around the world capture its fly-by, early data reveals unexpected behavior, deepening one of the most intriguing space mysteries in years.

This massive, Manhattan-sized object is only the third known interstellar body to enter our solar system, after ‘Oumuamua (2017) and 2I/Borisov (2019). But 3I/ATLAS is turning out to be the most enigmatic of all — and even NASA scientists are struggling to explain what they’re seeing.

A visitor unlike any other

Discovered in July by the ATLAS telescope in Chile, 3I/ATLAS immediately drew attention due to its hyperbolic trajectory, confirming that it originated beyond our solar system. But what truly astonished astronomers was its size and chemical makeup.

New data from the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) shows that the object’s coma — the glowing halo of gas and dust — is dominated by carbon dioxide (CO₂), with a CO₂-to-water ratio of nearly 8:1, far higher than any known comet. Scientists also noted a strange anti-tail — a stream of dust pointing toward the Sun rather than away from it — a phenomenon rarely seen and poorly understood.

Even more puzzling, the object emits a brilliant green hue, a sign that something “has switched on” as it neared the Sun, according to recent optical observations. Some astronomers suspect this is due to chemical excitation from solar radiation, while others say the spectral pattern doesn’t match any known natural process.

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Harvard Scientist Accuses NASA of Coverup About Mysterious Comet

Harvard astrophysicist Avi Loeb has once again leveled accusations against NASA during an interview on the Joe Rogan Experience, this time claiming the agency is deliberately withholding a key image of the mysterious interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS.

The alleged photograph, taken by the High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) camera aboard the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO), shows the comet when it passed within 30 million kilometers of Mars, which is a rare close encounter for an object originating from outside our solar system, according to Loeb, who chaired the Harvard’s Department of Astronomy from 2011 to 2020.

Loeb also said that he directly contacted the HiRISE principal investigator to request access to the data, but his request fell on deaf ears.

“I wrote to the principal investigator of HiRISE, asking, ‘Can I get the data? I’m a scientist,’” said Loeb, who said he received “no response” from NASA.

The comet, designated 3I/ATLAS, has exhibited several unusual characteristics that have fueled speculation. Unlike typical comets, it displays jet-like emissions directed toward the Sun rather than away from it, a phenomenon that defies standard models of cometary outgassing, the New York Post reports. Additionally, 3I/ATLAS lacks a visible cometary tail and has been observed spouting nickel without accompanying iron that compositions not commonly seen in natural solar system bodies.

Loeb has previously speculated that the Manhattan-sized object could be of alien origin, though he tempers this with caution. In his view, the more probable explanation is “terrestrial stupidity” rather than evidence of extraterrestrial intelligence. Nonetheless, the comet’s non-gravitational acceleration and its trajectory raise questions. Loeb has suggested these features could indicate reconnaissance activity if the object were artificial, though he emphasizes this as a low-probability scenario.

“If 3I/ATLAS is a massive mothership, it will likely continue along its original gravitational path and ultimately exit the Solar system,” Loeb wrote in a blog post in September. “In that case, the Oberth maneuver might apply to the mini-probes it releases at perihelion towards Solar system planets.”

“Science is guided by evidence and not by expectations,” the Harvard astrophysicist continued. “We can find the answer to the above question by monitoring the sky during November and December 2025, and searching for any unusual activity of 3I/ATLAS or any new objects that came out of it.”

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Astronomers Say They Just Detected Radio Signals Coming from This Comet

Evidently, it’s a big week for news involving comets, as a team of astronomers now reports the detection of an intriguing series of radio signals emanating from one of the speeding objects (no, not that comet) currently making its way through our solar system.

The surprising news comes to us courtesy of a research team led by the Shanghai Astronomical Observatory of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, and was reportedly made possible with the Tianma Radio Telescope.

During multi-band radio observations of comet 12P/Pons-Brooks, the team detected an interesting series of radio signals coming from the returning comet, which is also one of the brightest comets astronomers have ever seen.

At a glance, this all sounds pretty tantalizing… but what does the detection of radio signals from a comet in our solar system actually mean?

A Returning Comet Stops In

First discovered in 1812, 12P/Pons-Brooks possesses an orbital period of around 71 years, meaning that this is actually the fourth time astronomers have had an opportunity to watch it during its journeys through the solar system.

During their recent observations of the Halley-type comet, the Chinese team says they measured the rate at which water was being produced by 12P/Pons-Brooks, which revealed the most distant known detection of ammonia molecules known to astronomers from such observations.

Since comets are known to contain a variety of icy components—many of which are as old as the solar system itself—they are ideal for observations by astronomers, particularly when these materials begin to bake off as the speeding objects make their way toward the Sun.

In the case of comets like 12P/Pons-Brooks, the presence of volatile ices shows that they haven’t been subjected to large amounts of thermal evolution since they were born in our solar system eons ago. Because of this, the study of the ices they carry and their composition offers a way for astronomers to look back in time at the chemical and thermal conditions that were present in our planetary neighborhood around 4.6 billion years ago.

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Manhattan-sized space object 3I/ATLAS has grown a tail — a possible sign of alien ‘maneuver’: Harvard scientist

New images reveal the Manhattan-sized interstellar object 3I/ATLAS has started to sport a tail, indicating that it could possibly be a “maneuvering” alien craft, one Harvard scientist suggested.

After exhibiting signs of an incredibly strange “anti-tail” since first cropping up in the solar system in July, 3I/ATLAS is now showing evidence of a true cometary tail, images taken by Spain’s Nordic Optical Telescope in the Canary Island in September revealed.

These new images shows materials being peeled off behind the 33-billion ton object as it travels toward the sun and is hit with up to 33 gigawatts of solar radiation, Harvard astrophysicist Avi Loeb wrote in a recent paper.

However, the succession of an anti-tail and then the presence of a tail could be indicative of “controlled maneuvering” and a high-impact Black Swan event.

3I/ATLAS’s anti-tail was a plume composed of mostly carbon dioxide and water with trace amounts of cyanide and a never-seen-in-nature nickel alloy that has only been used in human manufacturing.

“[I]f the object is an alien spacecraft slowing down,” Loeb wrote, then the anti-tail would be evidence of a “braking thrust” maneuver which would naturally change to a tail as the slowing procedure completed.

The International Asteroid Warning Network added 3I/ATLAS to its list of targets earlier this week, and began monitoring the object for scientific purposes.

The group wrote on its website: “While it poses no threat, comet 3I/ATLAS present a great opportunity for the IAWN community to perform an observing exercise due to its prolonged observability from Earth and its high interest to the scientific community.”

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3I/ATLAS is Leaving a Mysterious “Hidden” Trail of Particles in Its Wake—Now Scientists Have a Plan to Intercept It

While comet 3I/ATLAS and its dusty tail remain far out of the reach of Earthly spacecraft, astronomers say the unusual interstellar object has produced a secondary “hidden” trail of charged particles marking its path through our solar system.

Now, a pair of scientists with the European Space Agency (ESA) has proposed a bold idea: it may be possible to sail a pair of NASA and ESA spacecraft through the mysterious visitor’s “ion tail.”

The idea was advanced by a pair of researchers in a new paper, which argues that the trajectory of NASA’s Europa Clipper spacecraft and the European Space Agency’s (ESA) Hera spacecraft could allow them to pass directly through the trail of ions left in 3I/ATLAS’s wake.

Doing so might offer astronomers a rare opportunity to collect samples of material from other worlds, which the odd interstellar comet has ejected during its unprecedented visit.

Mission Into an Interstellar Object’s Odd “Ion Tail”

Between October 30 and November 6, 2025, the trajectories of the Europa Clipper and Hera space missions may briefly align with the ion trail left by 3I/ATLAS, allowing their instruments to collect information through detections of charged particles carried outward from the object by the solar wind.

“During the period 30 October – 6 November 2025, it is predicted that Europa Clipper will potentially be immersed within the ion tail of 3I/ATLAS, providing the opportunity to detect the signatures of an interstellar comet’s ion tail, write authors Samuel Grant and Geraint Jones in their paper, which appeared on the preprint arXiv.org server on October 15, 2025.

“Characteristic changes to the solar wind are also expected to be observed,” the authors say, which will likely include what they characterize as “a magnetic draping structure” potentially emanating from the comet.

Even prior to Europa Clipper’s potential passage through the mysterious ion tail of 3I/ATLAS, Grant and Jones believe that the ESA’s Hera spacecraft “will possibly be immersed within the ion tail of 3I/ATLAS during the period 25 October – 1 November 2025.”

Neither spacecraft will be endangered during their potential transit of the interstellar comet’s tail of charged particles, although the implications of doing so could end up being profound, in that they may offer the first opportunity to make indirect observations of material samples from another star system.

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