3I/ATLAS Comet's Near Miss Prompts Putin's Rare Space Comment on 'Secret Weapon'

Interstellar visitors rarely crash world leaders' press conferences. Yet, on 19 December 2025, the mysterious object 3I/ATLAS did just that, prompting a bizarre exchange with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

When asked by a journalist from Tyumen if the approaching object was an alien spacecraft or a foreign threat, Putin leaned into the microphone with a wry smile. 'It must remain exclusively between us,' he quipped to the reporter. 'It's our secret weapon.'

While the room rippled with nervous laughter, the president quickly pivoted to reality. 'Seriously though, it's a comet... from another star,' he clarified, confirming that Russian scientists were monitoring the object.

A Cosmic Mystery and AI Warnings

During his televised annual news conference, President Putin laughed off speculation that 3I/ATLAS might be an alien craft. After quipping that it is Russia's secret weapon, he stated: 'Seriously though, it's a comet... from another star.' He added that scientists had confirmed it posed no threat to Earth.

Meanwhile, astrophysicist Avi Loeb—whose analysis of 3I/ATLAS sparked global discussion—warns of a different kind of cosmic challenge: the rise of AI-generated misinformation. In this case, of unverified AI-generated images of 3I/ATLAS on various social media platforms.

He shared a note from NBC News journalist Gadi Schwartz, who praised Loeb for inspiring 'little future astronomers' while joking about deepfakes as a 'form of flattery'.

Loeb, however, sees it differently, calling artificial fakery the greatest upcoming nemesis of science and urging humanity to rely more on 'natural intelligence.'

Even Dr Michio Kaku, who has spoken about 3I/ATLAS previously, has become a victim of 'deep fake AI videos'. These videos are impersonating the scientist and 'misleading the public with crazy false claims'.

The Long Journey of 3I/ATLAS

3I/ATLAS is unlike any interstellar visitor that has come close to Earth before. It is travelling at 60 kilometres per second, on a journey that has taken billions of years. Its passage is a voyage that has been going on long before humans ever walked the Earth.

Humanity has barely been around long enough to leave a mark, just a blink in the timeline of the cosmos. Meanwhile, 3I/ATLAS has been drifting through star systems for ages—carried by mysteries humanity is only beginning to grasp. And even here at home, it's Jupiter, not Earth, that steals the spotlight.

The gas giant's mass is 318 times greater than our planet's, making it the gravitational heavyweight of the neighbourhood. In the grand scheme of celestial history, humanity's presence is merely a faint echo.

Astronomers Captivated by 3I/ATLAS Anti-Tail

Images captured by amateur astronomers on 19 December show a spectacular detail—a remarkable anti-tail stretching nearly a million kilometres.

Ten times longer than its width, this stream of material points toward the Sun, a puzzling sight even for seasoned scientists.

Researchers believe that understanding this anomaly will be essential to decoding the comet's mysterious composition and trajectory.

In the months ahead, spectroscopic and imaging studies will focus on 3I/ATLAS as it nears Jupiter on 16 March 2026, when it will pass within 53.6 million kilometres of the planet's surface.

If monitored closely by NASA's Juno spacecraft, astronomers hope to observe how 3I/ATLAS behaves near Jupiter's powerful Lagrange points—regions where gravity dances in delicate balance.

Humanity's Place in a Much Larger Story

NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman put it simply: if we want humanity to have a lasting place in the Milky Way, we have to keep going—past the Moon, past Mars, and out into the unknown.

Watching 3I/ATLAS drift through the darkness reminds us of something both humbling and inspiring. The universe isn't waiting for us to catch up, and it doesn't owe us anything at all.

If we want our short time in the cosmos to count, we have to make it count—by staying curious, taking risks, and reaching beyond what feels familiar.