A new picture of the interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS has caused a lot of surprise and confusion among scientists. This comet is special because it came from outside our solar system, and only two such objects have ever been seen before.
But now, a new image taken on November 22 by photographer Mitsunori Tsumura shows the comet doing something very strange.
In the photo, the comet’s tail looks very thin, very straight, and sharply shaped. Scientists say this is not how a normal comet tail should look. Usually, a comet's tail bends a little, spreads out as it moves farther away, and slowly fades in brightness.
But 3I/ATLAS is not doing any of these things. This has made experts wonder if this comet is behaving in a way that does not match the usual rules of physics.
NASA first discovered 3I/ATLAS on July 1, 2025, and ever since then, people have been watching it closely. After the new image came out, the internet became full of questions about why the comet looks so unusual.
🚨: 3I/ATLAS Just Broke Every Rule of Comet Physics — Again
— All day Astronomy (@forallcurious) November 28, 2025
Mitsunori Tsumura has once again captured an extraordinary view of 3I/ATLAS. Though the observation was made on November 22, the image was only released a few hours ago.
🔴 NON-COMET-LIKE ANOMALIES VISIBLE IN THIS… pic.twitter.com/0KOhbwLWdm
In a normal comet, the Sun warms the comet and causes gas and dust to blow away, forming a tail. This tail usually becomes wider, curves slightly, and loses brightness slowly.
But scientists noticed that the tail of 3I/ATLAS:
Because of these strange features, experts say the tail does not look like it is made from the usual dust and gas that most comets release. On top of that, the tail becomes dim very quickly, which is not normal either. This has caused many scientists to wonder what the comet is made of and why it is behaving this way.
Harvard scientist Avi Loeb added even more questions during this debate. He said the center of the comet, called the nucleus, is much bigger than the other two interstellar objects we have seen: ʻOumuamua and Borisov. He also said 3I/ATLAS is moving faster than both of them.
Loeb believes the chance of a comet being this large and this fast by random luck is less than 0.1%. He also suggested that the way the comet moves might be caused by something happening inside the object, not just by the Sun’s force. He even mentioned the idea that the comet could be artificially made, though this is only a theory and not proven.
He also noted something else unusual: the comet is getting bluer than the Sun, which is very rare.
With each new image, 3I/ATLAS becomes even more mysterious. Scientists say they need more time and data to understand what this strange visitor from outside our solar system really is.
TOPICS: 3I/ATLAS, Avi Loeb, 3I/ATLAS alien contact, Avi Loeb 3I/ATLAS, Avi Loeb 3I/ATLAS theory