3I/ATLAS is Finally Broadcasting? New Findings Break the Internet — What We Know

3I/ATLAS is back in the conspiracy web, and whether you are a space enthusiast or a curious reader, the recent viral news about interstellar visitor 3I/ATLAS has stretched much beyond the usual scientific discussion.

Now, a viral post claims that this object from another star system is not just passing through our Solar System, but transmitting deliberate radio signals that take on everything we know about natural celestial bodies. According to the claim, sensitive radio telescopes like MeerKAT have allegedly picked up steady and unexplained emissions, leading NASA and observatories throughout the world to launch immediate monitoring missions.

The Viral Theory: Is 3I/ATLAS Broadcasting Signals?

The main part of the viral theory that has received hundreds of thousands of views online is based on an insane claim, which is that 3I/ATLAS is not simply reflecting sunlight or releasing gases like typical comets, but is instead emitting a regular radio signal that resembles something intentionally broadcast. It also describes this as a continuous transmission that cannot be dismissed as noise, and they argue that this is what caused immediate global scientific attention.

In the version of the story that is going viral, the signal was detected at a very specific frequency by the MeerKAT radio telescope in South Africa. According to the tweet, scientists identified hydrogen and other components that are 'normal' for a comet, but the strength and regularity of the radio output do not fit with any conventional model of cometary science. This theory seems to say that instead of a passive icy body trailblazing through our Solar System, 3I/ATLAS might be revealing something far crazier. Here is the post:

Moreover, it is claimed that NASA immediately pivoted NASA assets of all kinds, from space telescopes to ground based observatories, to monitor every aspect of 3I/ATLAS's behaviour. Every hour of new data, according to this viral post, could change our understanding of not just this object but of interstellar objects in general. The idea of an interstellar visitor 'broadcasting' is obviously intriguing and has got many around the world thinking it as a potential sign of technologically advanced extraterrestrial origin, yes, aliens on 3I/ATLAS.

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Fact Check: What the Science Actually Tells Us

However, setting aside the alien conspiracy and looking at verified scientific information, the picture is much less sensational but still very interesting. 3I/ATLAS is an interstellar comet, now officially designated C/2025 N1 (ATLAS), and is only the third confirmed object from another star system to pass through ours, after ʻOumuamua and 2I/Borisov. It was first identified by the Asteroid Terrestrial-impact Last Alert System (ATLAS) on 1 July 2025 and confirmed to be interstellar due to its hyperbolic orbit, meaning it is not gravitationally bound to our Sun.

Moreover, one of the most important points to understand is what the scientists have actually detected. Telescopes like MeerKAT and other radio observatories have indeed observed radio emissions from 3I/ATLAS. However, these are not broadcasts of intelligent or alien origin. Instead, they are signals that arise from natural physical and chemical processes in the comet's coma, the cloud of gas and dust surrounding its nucleus. For example, scientists have detected emissions from molecules such as hydroxyl and atomic components like hydrogen, which are common products of cometary interaction with solar radiation.

Also, thorough investigations such as those by the Breakthrough Listen project, which specialises in searching for signals of artificial origin, have reported no evidence of technosignatures from 3I/ATLAS after deep scans using the Green Bank Telescope and other instruments. So, unfortunately for alien lovers, what has been observed is perfectly fitting with what we might expect from a natural comet.