It seems like every few days, my social media feed lights up with new claims that the interstellar object 3I/ATLAS might be an alien craft. Ever since its discovery in early July, this icy visitor from deep space has become a full-blown celestial celebrity.
Media outlets hungry for clicks have seized on the moment, pushing out wild conspiracy theories to draw attention and ad revenue. But, according to a report from Popular Science, the hype is pure manipulation—everyone’s being played. On October 30, 3I/ATLAS made its closest pass to the sun yet, giving three spacecraft a rare chance to capture detailed observations of the mysterious traveler.
Early examinations noted the comet’s gas coma–the cloud of sublimated debris formed as it passes near a star–experienced a “rapid brightening” compared to previously observed comets at similar distances from the sun. While earlier observations indicated 3I/ATLAS appeared red in color, additional analysis has led astronomers to note in a preprint study it’s actually “distinctly bluer than the sun.”
Multiple outlets asserted our interstellar visitor had suddenly, and perhaps inexplicably, changed in appearance. Meanwhile, the internet has done what it does best: generate a deluge of misinformation about the comet’s “true” extraterrestrial identity. But according to study coauthor Qicheng Zhang at Arizona’s Lowell Observatory, the conspiracies aren’t worth your time.
In an interview with Popular Science, Zhang said he’s far more irritated by the people spreading unproven ideas than by the conspiracies themselves. His target: Harvard astronomer Avi Loeb, who has a long history of hyping unidentified aerial phenomena theories. Loeb has gone so far as to suggest that the comet’s strange coloration could be evidence of “alien tech,” a claim Zhang clearly finds frustrating and unfounded.
“I think my main source of annoyance though is just that so much of it has been propagated by someone with a background in science who should know better,” Zhang said. “A large fraction of the misinformation I’ve seen floating around can be directly traced back to him misinterpreting [or] not fully reading the papers or data he comments on.”
3I/ATLAS only “changed color” as its coma brightened near the sun, and the shift wasn’t dramatic. Zhang said the brightening began by early September, and hobbyist astronomers had already snapped photos showing a bluish-green gas coma.
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So, contrary to the conspiracy theories, the U.S. government didn’t stage a shutdown to hide extraterrestrial visitors or block the release of images of a spacecraft. Nope, that was all Chuck Schumer and the Senate Democrats trying to strong-arm Republicans and rally their base before the 2025 elections.
NASA has yet to release additional photos due to limited operations during the US government shutdown, but there is still a chance the agency will reveal images taken by its Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter on October 3. Even more glimpses of the comet are assured to ramp up as 3I/ATLAS reaches its closest approach to Earth on December 19, when it will soar past us from only around 167 million miles away.
“On a more optimistic note, I do hope more people will begin see how the anomalies of this comet are just weird things comets do, and perhaps driving more interest to understand them better,” Zhang says.
I wouldn’t bet on it.
Editor’s Note: After more than 40 days of screwing Americans, a few Dems have finally caved. The Schumer Shutdown was never about principle—just inflicting pain for political points.
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