Is 3I/Atlas Falling Apart as It Nears Earth? Shocking New Images Raise Concern

As the interstellar visitor known as 3I/ATLAS continues to make its way through our solar neighbourhood, it keeps going viral as shocking new images have dropped across social media once again.

This time, a viral post on X claimed that worrying new images show the object changing colour from green to gold, giving proof that it might be fragmenting or breaking apart. Users have shared and reshared the post, suggesting that this could be evidence that 3I/ATLAS is not merely a comet but something far more unusual.

Is 3I/Atlas Getting Destroyed?

3I/Atlas is drawing attention much more than usual because of its closest approach to Earth later this month, theories about its structural integrity are going viral online, as people are trying to find out if it is actually falling apart and how that can affect the Earth.

The viral tweet that led to all this worry says that multiple observations showed 3I/ATLAS transitioning in appearance, with the clicks by observers such as Dan Bartlett being brought up as proof that the object might be falling apart.

Moreover, according to the post, the alleged change from green to a golden hue could signify structural changes or fragmentation, which is reminiscent of what was observed before another comet, C/2025 K1 ATLAS, began to break up earlier in its journey.

This scary opinion has struck home with some members of the space community, who monitor changes in brightness, colour and morphology for clues about a comet's physical state. Here is the viral post:

Furthermore, the main part of the theory is rooted in how 3I/ATLAS has looked through different telescopes and filters over time. This isn't new, as there have been many reports that the object's appearance seems to vary between images and that these changes could indicate instability.

Then, also on forums dedicated to astronomical anomalies and unidentified celestial objects, users have expanded on this idea, linking changes in colour and apparent structure to theories about fragmentation, unusual jet behaviour or even non-natural origins like alien spaceships.

That's not all, as this theory of a comet about to break also makes for a good conspiracy about scary celestial events. It is true, as confirmed by NASA data, that comets do sometimes break apart as they near the Sun, especially if they are small or structurally weak. This is because when a comet's icy nucleus experiences heating, internal pressures can build as volatile materials sublimate, leading to cracking or fragmentation.

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What Astronomers Actually Know

From the scientific perspective now, there is no verified evidence that 3I/ATLAS is breaking apart. Astronomers around the world have been looking at the comet since its discovery in July 2025 by the Asteroid Terrestrial-impact Last Alert System (ATLAS) in Chile.

Moreover, the data collected thoroughly through professional observatories and space telescopes gives us a picture of a comet type body showing expected cometary behaviour as it approaches the Sun and warms up. New observations also confirm that the green glow seen in images is not a sign of structural failure, but rather a common cometary phenomenon, as per reports.

Now, to fact check, as 3I/ATLAS nears its closest approach to Earth, scientists have noted an increase in brightness and a distinct green hue emanating from the coma, or gas envelope, surrounding the object. This green colour is caused by diatomic carbon molecules and other carbon based compounds becoming excited by ultraviolet sunlight, a process well understood from years and years of cometary study.

Moreover, when these molecules break apart under solar radiation, they emit light at wavelengths that appear green to telescopes on Earth and in orbit. This effect has been observed in many comets as they heat up, and it does not necessarily indicate that the comet is fragmenting or breaking apart.