New images reveal that the Manhattan-sized interstellar object 3I/ATLAS has started to develop a tail, suggesting that it could possibly be a “maneuvering” alien craft, according to one Harvard scientist.
Since first appearing in the solar system in July, 3I/ATLAS exhibited an incredibly strange “anti-tail.” However, recent images taken in September by Spain’s Nordic Optical Telescope in the Canary Islands now show evidence of a true cometary tail. These images reveal materials being peeled off behind the 33-billion-ton object as it travels toward the Sun, where it is bombarded with up to 33 gigawatts of solar radiation.
Harvard astrophysicist Avi Loeb discussed these findings in a recent paper. He suggested that the succession of an anti-tail followed by the presence of a tail could indicate “controlled maneuvering” and might represent a high-impact Black Swan event.
Loeb explained that 3I/ATLAS’s anti-tail was a plume composed mostly of carbon dioxide and water, with trace amounts of cyanide and a never-before-seen-in-nature nickel alloy—an alloy only used in human manufacturing. “[I]f the object is an alien spacecraft slowing down,” Loeb wrote, then the anti-tail could be evidence of a “braking thrust” maneuver, which would naturally transition to a tail as the slowing procedure completes.
The International Asteroid Warning Network (IAWN) recently added 3I/ATLAS to its list of targets and began monitoring the object for scientific purposes. The group stated on its website: “While it poses no threat, comet 3I/ATLAS presents a great opportunity for the IAWN community to perform an observing exercise due to its prolonged observability from Earth and its high interest to the scientific community.”
Researchers worldwide are eagerly awaiting the high-resolution images captured earlier this month by NASA’s HiRISE camera aboard the Mars orbiter. These images, taken when 3I/ATLAS came within 12 million miles of the Red Planet, are the highest resolution yet obtained of the object. However, the US space agency has not yet shared them publicly due to the ongoing government shutdown.
3I/ATLAS is expected to come closest to the Sun on October 29, when it will be approximately 1.8 times the Earth-Sun distance. Scientists continue to closely observe this enigmatic visitor as it journeys through our solar system.
https://nypost.com/2025/10/25/world-news/manhattan-sized-interstellar-object-3i-atlas-has-grown-a-tail-as-it-approaches-the-sun-which-could-be-sign-of-a-maneuver/
