3I/ATLAS Update: New Evidence Could Prove Whether The Mysterious Interstellar Object Is An Alien Spacecraft Or Not

For months, scientists and researchers have been captivated by the enigmatic interstellar object known as 3I/ATLAS. Its unusual behaviour sparked speculation that it might not be a comet at all, but something far more extraordinary. Now, fresh images could finally help settle the debate and challenge the boldest theories about its true nature.

Discovered in July 2025, the comet-like body drew closer to Earth in December before continuing its journey through the Solar System. Astronomers expect it to pass near Jupiter this spring, after which it will resume its voyage into deep space.

Alien Spacecraft Theory

Because of its unexplainable behaviour and characteristics, some scientists, including Harvard astrophysicist Avi Loeb, suggested that the object was not a comet, but an alien spacecraft instead. Loeb's latest statement about the interstellar object questioned why the CIA would 'neither deny nor confirm the existence or nonexistence of records' linked to 3I/ATLAS, based on the agency's response to the request of American researcher and ufologist John Greenewald Jr.

Loeb also previously noted in an interview with The Metro UK that 3I/ATLAS's physical appearance, based on a sighting by Austrian astronomer Michael Jäger, does not look like the average comet. Jäger observed a 'complex tail structure,' which could be caused by seven 'jets' or the gas eruptions coming from beneath the surface of the comet as it prepares to warm up.

Speaking with The Metro UK, Loeb said: 'Is the network of jets associated with pockets of ice on the surface of a natural cometary nucleus, or are they coming from a set of jet thrusters used for navigation of a spacecraft?'

Although uncertain, Loeb noted that images captured in November 2025 added further detail to the mystery surrounding the object's identity.

Missing 'Candidate Signals'

A team of researchers from Oxford's astronomy group called Breakthrough Project targeted 3I/ATLAS using the Green BankTelescope, one of the world's largest radio telescopes.

The team published their observation in the Research Notes of the American Astronomical Society, where they mentioned that the telescope could not pick up any 'candidate signals' when they pointed the devices towards it on 18 December, when 3I/ATLAS was still 170 million miles away from the Earth.

Based on their observation, '3I/ATLAS exhibits mostly typical cometary characteristics, including a coma and an unelongated nucleus.'

However, Loeb believed that the group's research is inconclusive. 'It is unclear whether a technological object would transmit radio signals to its senders because such signals would take tens of thousands of years to cross the Milky Way galaxy,' he said in another interview with The Metro UK.

UFO expert and filmmaker Mark Christopher Lee supported Loeb's claims, saying that the negative results from the telescope could only rule out specific types of transmissions, particularly those similar to the Earth's radio technology at relatively low levels.

'Advanced extraterrestrial intelligence, if it exists, might employ entirely different communication methods, such as directed laser beams, quantum signals, or even no emissions at all if the object is a dormant probe,' Lee said.

For now, the alien spacecraft theory remains unproven. Advocates insist that more studies and evidence are needed before they can declare that 3I/ATLAS is anything other than a comet. Until then, the interstellar visitor continues to intrigue scientists and fuel speculation about what secrets it may hold.