Harvard Scientist Suggests NASA Image of 3I/ATLAS Could Be an 'Alien Vessel' — NASA Calls It an Unusual Comet

A Harvard astrophysicist has proposed a provocative interpretation of recent images of the interstellar object 3I/ATLAS: rather than a conventional comet, the photographs might show an artificial craft. NASA, however, describes the object as an unusual comet and emphasizes that it poses no threat to Earth.

Background

The object designated 3I/ATLAS was first detected on July 1, 2025, by the ATLAS (Asteroid Terrestrial-impact Last Alert System) survey telescope in Chile. It is only the third object confirmed to have entered our solar system from interstellar space. Observations indicate it passed within roughly 19 million miles of Mars in early October and will not approach Earth closer than about 170 million miles.

Evidence and debate

NASA released images of the object on November 19. Harvard’s Avi Loeb — the Frank B. Baird, Jr. Professor of Science — told interviewer Elizabeth Vargas that the images leave room for an extraordinary explanation: "the interstellar object could be an alien vessel." Loeb says he has identified about a dozen anomalies in the observations that merit further scrutiny and argues that what is visible now could be a layer of ices and dust accumulated on an object traveling through interstellar space.

Avi Loeb: "Let’s wait and see. Bureaucrats or unimaginative scientists want us to believe in the expected, but the rest of us know the best is yet to come."

Not all scientists agree that an artificial origin is necessary to explain the object's properties. Physicist Michio Kaku notes that the object's great age — potentially more than seven billion years — could account for its unusual composition through long-term accumulation of materials and exposure to varied environments.

Measurements and what we know

Hubble Space Telescope observations constrain the nucleus diameter to an upper limit of about 3.5 miles (5.6 kilometers), though it could be as small as roughly 1,000 feet (320 meters). The object is traveling at approximately 130,000 miles per hour (209,000 kilometers per hour), the highest velocity recorded for a visitor from beyond our solar system. Scientists say that extreme speed is consistent with a body that has wandered interstellar space for billions of years, acquiring speed via multiple gravitational interactions.

David Jewitt (UCLA): "No one knows where the comet came from. It’s like glimpsing a rifle bullet for a thousandth of a second. You can't project that back with any accuracy to figure out where it started on its path."

Next steps

Astronomers are continuing to analyze existing imagery and plan further observations when viewing geometry allows. Some researchers expect additional clarity about the object's origin as it approaches its closest point to Earth on December 19. For now, the scientific community remains divided: some urge cautious analysis within established cometary models, while others say the anomalies justify open-minded investigation.

Note: This article presents the competing scientific interpretations and the observational facts available to date. Quotes and positions are attributed to the individuals referenced.