3I/ATLAS
3I/ATLAS taken by the Hubble Space Telescope NASA, ESA, D. Jewitt UCLA); Image Processing: J. DePasquale (STScI/Wikimedia Commons

New images of the interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS from the Hubble Space Telescope appear to confirm the existence of a powerful jet of material pointing directly toward the Sun, a highly unusual feature that defies conventional cometary behaviour.

The images, captured on 7 January, are the clearest yet of the third interstellar object ever detected in our solar system. After processing, they reveal a distinct triple-jet structure emanating from the comet's nucleus, with one jet pointing sunward in a phenomenon known as an 'anti-tail'.

The Hubble Space Telescope captured images of 3I/ATLAS on 7 January and it is reportedly the clearest yet of the interstellar comet. The images were later processed using a Larson-Sekanina rotational filter, and showed a very distinct triple-jet coming from the comet's nucleus. It is likely what the USA Herald refers to as a 'tightly collimated' jet that is pointing toward the Sun.

An Unprecedented Sun-Facing Structure

According to NASA, the European Space Agency, and the Space Telescope Science Institute, this particular jet extends to a scale comparable to the distance between the Earth and the Moon. This 'anti-tail' is unlike anything typically seen from a solar system comet.

Comet tails normally form as solar radiation and solar wind push gas and dust away from the nucleus, resulting in a tail that points away from the Sun. While some anti-tails can appear as an optical illusion depending on Earth's vantage point, the Hubble images of 3I/ATLAS rule out that explanation.

Previous Detections Hinted at Anomaly

Hubble first detected 3I/ATLAS on 31 July 2025. At the time, astronomers noticed that its coma – the cloud surrounding its nucleus–appeared to be elongated toward the Sun. The angle of observation suggested the actual structure was six times longer than it appeared.

Subsequent detections of 3I/ATLAS after its closest approach to the Sun have confirmed this feature. Images taken at different points have consistently shown the sunward jet, along with two other jets spaced evenly from it.

CIA's Ambiguous Response on 'Alien Life' Records

As scientists continue to observe 3I/ATLAS, Harvard astronomer Avi Loeb, in a new post on Medium that the CIA seemed to hint at the existence of classified documents related to the comet.

Loeb cited a response the CIA gave to UFO researcher John Greenewald Jr., who had filed a query about the object. According to a letter Greenewald shared on X, the CIA stated it could 'neither confirm nor deny the existence or nonexistence of records' related to the interstellar comet.

Loeb contrasted this ambiguous response with statements from NASA officials, who have publicly described 3I/ATLAS as a regular comet.

'If this conclusion was clear all along to everyone within government and academia – as NASA officials presented the case, then why would the CIA treat the possible existence of records dealing with a natural comet as sensitive enough to be classified?' wrote Loeb.

NASA