It’s Never Been Cooler to Be an Alien Contactee — Inside the Zoom Rooms of ET 'Experiencers' as 3I/Atlas Sparks Debate

Each month, at about 7 p.m. on a Tuesday, Catherine Chapey settles into her home in Holtsville, Long Island, to host a virtual gathering that has become the social highlight of her week: a Zoom room for people who say they have encountered extraterrestrial or otherworldly beings.

Meet the group

Chapey, a former electrician who is now an ordained interspiritual minister, began organizing meetings after her own unusual experiences prompted her to look for others like her. What started as a small in-person meetup at a public library has grown into a mailing list of thousands, with participants logging in from as far away as Japan and New Zealand.

The meetings are framed as a safe space where members share detailed accounts — from childhood visitations and telepathic communications to claims of hybridization and therapeutic probes. For many, the gatherings function as a form of mutual support and healing.

Stories vary widely. Kevin, 71 and a Florida realtor, describes himself as a 'lifelong contactee' whose encounters began at age eight and who claims ongoing communication with a council of nonhuman beings. Funda, a medical worker in Colorado, says she is an 'ET-human hybrid' who underwent examinations in 2017 and was told she would act as a bridge between species. An IT worker in Chicago named Nick describes feeling like a long-term 'guinea pig' for malevolent entities and has used the group to process those experiences. Others, like a Seattle retiree named Terry, believe recent interstellar visitors may include craft they have previously boarded.

The 3I/Atlas controversy

Conversation at the meetings has gravitated toward 3I/Atlas, an interstellar object currently passing through the inner solar system. Some observers point to its unusual behavior — non-gravitational acceleration, an 'anti-tail' that appears to point sunward rather than away, and an odd trajectory near Jupiter, Venus and Mars — and speculate that it could be artificial. Among those advocating for investigation is astrophysicist Avi Loeb, who has suggested the possibility of an engineered probe.

At the same time, official scientific assessments have been more cautious. Space agency statements describe 3I/Atlas as consistent with a comet, noting that its observed color, speed and activity fit known natural phenomena. The debate between open-minded inquiry and skepticism has helped push the topic of unidentified anomalous phenomena into broader public conversation.

Why this matters

Public interest in anomalous aerial phenomena has risen in recent years. Polling shows an increase in people who report belief in or sightings of unidentified objects, and the release of military footage showing fast-moving 'tic tac' objects has intensified media attention and public curiosity. For members of Chapey’s group, the heightened visibility means their experiences are less likely to be dismissed out of hand.

Chapey describes a range of personal encounters that shaped her path: from seeing 'feline faces' in a shed to an interdimensional figure said to have alleviated a severe headache. In 2019 she completed a two-and-a-half-year seminary program at a multi-faith organization called the Gathering of Light and was ordained as an interspiritual minister. She now devotes herself to supporting others who have had spiritual or anomalous experiences and to normalizing these conversations.

Skeptics and cautions

Not everyone in the UFO community favors extraterrestrial interpretations. Dennis Anderson, a longtime investigator and former head of a planetarium, remains skeptical of claims that objects like 3I/Atlas are crafts. He points to images showing a coma and tail, which are characteristic of comets, and warns readers to be cautious about self-styled experts who assert far-reaching conclusions about multiple alien civilizations.

Whether 3I/Atlas ultimately proves to be a comet, an engineered object, or a phenomenon not yet fully understood, its appearance has intensified conversation between scientists, skeptics and people who describe firsthand anomalous experiences. For Chapey and many in her community, the object represents a possible catalyst for wider recognition of contact narratives and the social challenges those narratives bring.

'When you go through something like this, people drop out of your life,' Chapey says. 'They think you’re crazy. Others can’t really relate because they live in the 3D world of matter.' Undeterred, she believes that continued dialogue and openness will eventually bring greater understanding — and less fear.