NASA Hubble Space Telescope/UNPLASH

NASA is at the centre of a social media storm after a series of viral tweets accused the US space agency of intentionally lying to the public about the interstellar object 3I/ATLAS.

The claims, which have been shared tens of thousands of times, allege the agency fabricated a story about the object's visibility to hide its true nature and the sudden appearance of a 'second, hidden' object now travelling with it.

Proponents of the theory charge NASA with orchestrating a 'pre-meditated cover-up' over what they sensationally call 'the most important event in human history.'

The Great Lie About 3I/ATLAS Is Now Exposed?

The controversy centres on NASA's official projection for 3I/ATLAS, an object that has already baffled scientists with its strange emissions and sudden bursts of energy. The agency's 'establishment narrative,' as critics call it, was that the mysterious visitor 'would slip behind the Sun on October 29.'

This routine solar conjunction, critics claim, was presented as a 'boring astronomical footnote' that would render the object 'invisible, untouchable, gone.' This, they allege, was 'the perfect excuse to keep you from watching.'

However, amateur astronomers and sky-watchers, who were told 'not to bother looking,' claim to have proven this narrative to be a 'complete falsehood.' According to their reports flooding social media, '3I/ATLAS IS NOT BEHIND THE SUN.'

They claim the object is still visible and being tracked near the star Spica and the planet Venus. The failure of the predicted solar conjunction to hide the object has, they insist, exposed a blatant lie.

Will 3I/ATLAS Hit the Sun?
NASA's generic model for the 3I/ATLAS comet. NASA

A 'Hidden Object' Tailing 3I/ATLAS Fuels Cover-up Theory

The most shocking element of the theory is not just the object's continued visibility. What has left amateur astronomers 'reeling,' according to the viral posts, are new images purportedly showing a 'second, smaller 'hidden' object trailing 3I/ATLAS.'

This new object, which they insist was not there weeks ago and has never been acknowledged by NASA, is now the focal point of the cover-up allegations.

The posts speculate wildly on why NASA would 'concoct such a blatant lie.' 'Was the lie about the conjunction meant to stop us from watching 3I/ATLAS, or was it to stop us from seeing the 'hidden' object...?' one popular tweet asks.

Theorists question if 3I/ATLAS is a 'simple comet' at all, suggesting it could be an artificial 'mothership.' This new, smaller object is being described as a potential 'lander' or 'scout ship' that detached from the main body.

3I/Atlas
NASA astronomers are studying interstellar object 3I/ATLAS, shown here in a YouTube about its path across the solar system. It has reportedly released a sudden burst of energy and strange emissions as it approaches the Sun. YouTube

According to this theory, the 'invisible' period NASA announced was designed to hide a 'manoeuvre,' a 'change in trajectory,' or a 'signal' that would prove the object is under intelligent control.

'They do not want you to see its true behaviour,' one widely circulated post reads. 'They do not want you to photograph the object now trailing it.'

NASA has not yet issued a formal response to the viral accusations. However, the claims have deeply energised a community of sky-watchers who remain deeply sceptical of official information and are now 'watching the skies' with renewed intensity.