NASA Confirms Natural Origins of Interstellar Comet 3I/ATLAS
Washington D.C., Friday, 2 January 2026.
NASA confirms interstellar object 3I/ATLAS is a natural comet. Sensitive radio searches concluded on January 1, 2026, found no alien technosignatures, linking its acceleration to rare wobbling jets.
Definitive Evidence Against Artificial Origin
Speculation regarding the potential artificial nature of interstellar object 3I/ATLAS has been effectively silenced following comprehensive data analysis released yesterday. On January 1, 2026, the most sensitive radio search conducted to date—utilizing the Green Bank Telescope—concluded that there are absolutely no signs of alien technology emanating from the object [1]. While initial detections had piqued curiosity, further scrutiny revealed that all signals were linked to terrestrial interference rather than extraterrestrial transmission, reinforcing the scientific consensus that 3I/ATLAS is a natural body [1]. This aligns with observations from the Breakthrough Listen program, which monitored the object on December 18, 2025—just one day prior to its closest approach to Earth—and found no credible narrowband radio technosignatures [8].
Unraveling a Chemical Enigma
While the object is not a spacecraft, its composition presents a fascinating puzzle for astronomers. Spectroscopic data captured by the Very Large Telescope (VLT) has revealed a unique chemical signature: the presence of atomic nickel and cyanogen gas emissions, yet a distinct absence of iron [5]. This decoupling of metal emission from classical refractory release is significant; usually, these elements appear together in cometary comas [5]. Furthermore, the object—which may be over 7 billion years old and originate from a region of the Milky Way populated by older stars—underwent a dramatic visual transformation in late 2025 [4]. After passing its perihelion on October 29, 2025, at a distance of 203 million kilometers from the Sun, 3I/ATLAS brightened tenfold and shifted in color from red to green [1][4]. This shift, combined with the detection of carbon dioxide and nickel vapors, provides a rare window into the chemical processes of distant stellar systems [1][5].
Orbital Dynamics and the ‘Wobble’
The non-gravitational acceleration that initially confused observers has now been attributed to specific physical mechanics rather than propulsion technology. Observations conducted between July and September 2025 revealed that 3I/ATLAS exhibits wobbling jets in a sun-facing anti-tail that stretches over 1 million kilometers [1]. These jets are driven by the rotation of the comet’s icy core, which completes a full rotation every 15.5 hours [1]. This outgassing effect acts like a natural thruster, altering the comet’s trajectory in a way that gravity alone cannot explain. Having made its closest approach to Earth on December 19, 2025, at a distance of 1.8 AU (approximately 270 million kilometers), the comet is now moving away from us [4].
Current Visibility and Tracking
For observers tracking this rare visitor today, January 2, 2026, 3I/ATLAS is located in the constellation Leo, approximately 2.5° north of the star Omicron Leonis [4]. However, viewing requires advanced imaging setups, as the comet has faded to a magnitude of +15.6 [4]. In the United Kingdom (Greenwich), the object was calculated to transit at 02:54 local time this morning and set at 09:58 [7]. As it continues its journey outward, following a westward path toward Cancer, it remains a critical subject of study as only the third identified interstellar object in history, following ‘Oumuamua and 2I/Borisov [4][8].