Clearest Photo Yet of 3I/ATLAS Taken by Canadian Astrophotographer

A Canadian astrophotographer has captured what may be the clearest image yet of interstellar object 3I/ATLAS, fuelling a fierce debate led by a Harvard astronomer who claims the object is not a comet but alien technology.

Paul Craggs, the astrographer in question, shared what might be the clearest images of 3I/ATLAS yet in recent posts on X (formerly known as Twitter). In a post on 22 November, Craggs shared three images of the interstellar comet using his Dwarf 3 telescope. The photos show a much clearer shape to the comet and seem to show a lack of a cometary tail.

Craggs's photos come at a time when space enthusiasts and astrophotographers have been sharing their images of the comet, likely clearer than the images NASA has released thus far. The US space agency released more images of 3I/ATLAS during a livestream event on 19 November following the reopening of the federal government.

The Alien Artefact Theory

The discussion around 3I/ATLAS is not without speculation that the comet may not actually be a comet but something else. This theory has been championed by Harvard astronomer Professor Avi Loeb, who has listed 13 anomalies in the comet, classifying each anomaly into three categories: Minor, medium, and major. Six of which, Professor Loeb classifies as major, and go beyond mere speculation.

According to Professor Loeb, the unusual behaviour of the comet, from its improbable trajectory to its strange jet structures, indicates that 3I/ATLAS is more than what it seems.

'It is apparent that 3I/ATLAS is an extremely rare and mysterious object, especially if it happens to be a natural comet, as argued by NASA officials at the press conference on 19 November 2025,' said Professor Loeb in a post on Medium.

The Harvard astronomer also touched on whether scientists can broadcast a signal at the comet and expect a response.

'Obviously, one can shoot a laser beam or some radar signal and wait for an answer, but I think it would be more informative for us to figure out remotely what it is by taking a lot of data of it with hundreds of ground-based telescopes and the Hubble and Webb telescopes as well,' said Professor Loeb.

NASA Releases Photos of 3I/ATLAS Taken from Mars

NASA became the latest of three space agencies to release their images of 3I/ATLAS, following photos released by the European Space Agency (ESA) and the China National Space Agency (CNSA). The US agency's images of 3I/ATLAS were taken by its Mars missions; the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, the Mars Atmosphere and Volatile EvolutioN (MAVEN), and the Perseverance Rover.

The two orbiters captured the interstellar comet in both optical and ultraviolet light, respectively, while the rover captured a faint image of the comet.

The MRO took images of 3I/ATLAS using the HiRISE camera when the comet was 0.2 astronomical units away, perhaps the closest that a NASA spacecraft has gotten to the comet.

'Observations of interstellar objects are still rare enough that we learn something new on every occasion. We're fortunate that 3I/ATLAS passed this close to Mars,' said Shane Byrne, the HiRISE principal investigator at the University of Arizona.

'One of MRO's biggest contributions to NASA's work on Mars has been watching surface phenomena that only HiRISE can see,' said MRO project scientist Leslie Tamppari of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory. 'This is one of those occasions where we get to study a passing space object as well.'