New Images of 3I/ATLAS Raise Even More Questions

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New images of 3I/ATLAS just dropped, and somehow they raised even more questions than answers. This object doesn’t behave like we expected, and scientists are clearly paying very close attention now. In this video, we break down what the new images show and why they’re making researchers scratch their heads. We’ll explain the science without the jargon and compare it to other strange objects we’ve seen before. If you love space mysteries and real-time discoveries, you’re going to want to watch this one.  Credit: Key and Peele / Cindylou and co-producers Star Trek: Generations / Paramount Pictures CC BY-SA 4.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/: 3I ATLAS: by CSS, D. Rankin, https://neofixer.arizona.edu/css-orbit-view, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:3I_ATLAS_animation1.webm 3I-ATLAS: by International Gemini Observatory/NOIRLab/NSF/AURA/Shadow the Scientist, J. Miller & M. Rodriguez (International Gemini Observatory/NSF NOIRLab), T.A. Rector (University of Alaska Anchorage/NSF NOIRLab), M. Zamani (NSF NOIRLab), https://noirlab.edu/public/videos/noirlab2525b/, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:3I-ATLAS_video_noirlab2525b.webm Avi Loeb: by Christopher Michel, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Avi_Loeb_in_2023_02.jpg 3I-ATLAS: by Elena Sabbi, Brian Lemaux, Siyi Xu, Leilani Lozi, and Manuel Paredes, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:3I-ATLAS_Gemini_South_2025-08-27_r-band_annotated.png 3I-ATLAS: by David Jewitt et al., https://arxiv.org/html/2508.02934v1, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:3I-ATLAS_July_2025_Hubble_contour_annotated.png Comet 3I: by Philip Romanov, https://bsky.app/profile/filipp-romanov.bsky.social/post/3m2cawyzouk24, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Comet_3I_before_passing_Mars.jpg 3I ATLAS: by CSS, D. Rankin, https://neofixer.arizona.edu/css-orbit-view, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:3I_ATLAS_animation_3.webm 3I-ATLAS: by Zuri Gray et al., https://arxiv.org/html/2509.05181v1, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:3I-ATLAS_coma_Gray_et_al._2025_Fig_2.png 3I-ATLAS: by International Gemini Observatory/NOIRLab/NSF/AURA/B. Bolin, Image Processing: J. Miller & M. Rodriguez (International Gemini Observatory/NSF NOIRLab), T.A. Rector (University of Alaska Anchorage/NSF NOIRLab), M. Zamani (NSF NOIRLab), https://noirlab.edu/public/news/noirlab2532/, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:3I-ATLAS_noirlab2532b.jpg El Viaje de Bennu: by NASA, https://plus.nasa.gov/video/el-viaje-de-bennu-2/, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:El_Viaje_de_Bennu.webm 3I ATLAS: by NASA/James Webb Space Telescope, https://science.nasa.gov/blogs/3iatlas/2025/08/25/nasas-webb-space-telescope-observes-interstellar-comet/, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Webb_Images_Combined_3I_ATLAS.png Fastest Comet: by NASA's Scientific Visualization Studio - eMITS/Paul Morris, https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/14882, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Interstellar_Visitor_is_Fastest_Comet_Ever_Recorded_(SVS14882_ATLAS_WIDE_MP4).webm Animation is created by Bright Side.  ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  Music from TheSoul Sound: https://thesoul-sound.com/   Check our Bright Side podcast on Spotify and leave a positive review! https://open.spotify.com/show/0hUkPxD34jRLrMrJux4VxV  Subscribe to Bright Side: https://goo.gl/rQTJZz  ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  Our Social Media:  Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/brightplanet/  Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/brightside.official  TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@brightside.official?lang=en   Stock materials (photos, footages and other):  https://www.depositphotos.com  https://www.shutterstock.com  https://www.eastnews.ru  ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  For more videos and articles visit: http://www.brightside.me  ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  This video is made for entertainment purposes. We do not make any warranties about the completeness, safety and reliability. Any action you take upon the information in this video is strictly at your own risk, and we will not be liable for any damages or losses. It is the viewer's responsibility to use judgement, care and precaution if you plan to replicate.

Transcript

00:00Well, the space object 3i Atlas just whipped past the Sun, and instead of clearing things up, the new images made everything even stranger.

00:10Because if this thing really is a comet, then it's the strangest comet ever recorded.

00:16And if it's not a comet, then we're watching something completely new invade our solar system.

00:22So, should we be worried?

00:25This all started back in July 2025.

00:28Astronomers using the Atlas Survey Telescope in Chile spotted a faint, super-fast-moving object, something unlike anything they'd seen before.

00:38That was our first look at 3i Atlas.

00:41And right away, scientists had a lot of questions.

00:45Where did it come from? What's it made of?

00:48But more importantly, what is this thing?

00:51At first glance, it almost looks like a tiny cell, right?

00:54Like something you'd see under a microscope.

00:57With a bright center, like a nucleus, and this fuzzy outer layer.

01:02But when we look at it from a different angle, the mystery clears up.

01:06That glow is actually a comet tail.

01:10It's precisely because it looks like and behaves like a comet that NASA finally confirmed it.

01:16Yup, 3i Atlas really is a comet.

01:19The big giveaway is that it has an icy nucleus and a coma, which is that glowing cloud of gas and dust surrounding it.

01:27But this comet is a very special one, because it didn't come from our own solar system.

01:33It came from somewhere else in the Milky Way.

01:36And that's ridiculously rare.

01:39To give you an idea, we've only ever seen 3 objects like this.

01:44Period.

01:45The first 2 interstellar visits were the famous Oumuamua and the comet Borisov.

01:51And now, 3i Atlas.

01:54Cool!

01:54But you might be asking, how do we know it actually came from outside our solar system?

01:59You see, normal comets are bound to the Sun.

02:03They swing around it in these big, looping orbits.

02:07But 3i Atlas isn't doing that.

02:10Its crazy speed and path show it's not on a closed orbit around the Sun.

02:15And the only logical explanation is that it came from another star system and, you know, just wandered into ours by chance.

02:23In other words, this is just a visitor passing through our solar system.

02:27And is doing it at a ridiculous speed.

02:31When we first spotted it, it was going around 137,000 miles per hour.

02:36So this object probably spent millions of years cruising through deep space just to hang around our solar system for a few months.

02:44And after this quick visit, it'll vanish into interstellar space and we'll never see it again.

02:50Recently, two European Space Agency satellites, along with several NASA spacecraft near Mars, captured new images of 3i Atlas zooming in as it passed the red planet.

03:03And one of those images is pretty incredible, showing a cloud of hydrogen atoms around the comet.

03:08Scientists were pretty excited about that, as every bit of information we get from this visitor matters.

03:15Because the reality is, there are still a lot of unanswered questions about this object, starting with its size.

03:23We can't pin it down exactly yet, but NASA says it could be anywhere from about 1,400 feet to around 3.5 miles in diameter.

03:33Its exact shape is another mystery, because our telescopes can't really get a clear look at it.

03:40The nucleus is buried inside this bright coma of gas and dust.

03:44And the sunlight reflecting off all that dust basically blinds us.

03:48So, for now, we're trying to see it through a bright, dusty fog.

03:52If you put all the pieces together, its behavior, its chemistry, and the images we've gotten so far, everything points to 3i Atlas being a comet.

04:03But even with all that, there are still some pretty controversial ideas floating around about what it might be.

04:11Not long after it was discovered, Harvard astrophysicist Avi Loeb said there's maybe a 30-40% chance this object isn't something naturally formed.

04:21That comet kicked off a wave of online buzz, with people jumping to wild possibilities.

04:28Like, maybe it's some kind of extraterrestrial tech.

04:32Or worse, a threat to Earth.

04:34Ooh.

04:35According to this theory, 3i Atlas might be a massive extraterrestrial mothership.

04:41Its odd trajectory could mean it's sending out little satellites toward Jupiter to collect intel for some extraterrestrial civilization.

04:49So, in that version of the story, this isn't just a comet.

04:54It's basically advanced space spy tech.

04:58But then the obvious question is, why spy on Jupiter, right?

05:02I mean, wouldn't Earth be way more interesting to an interstellar civilization?

05:07Well, in this theory, Jupiter is the target because it's so much bigger than Earth and the other neighboring planets.

05:13The idea that a planet that massive could act kind of as an interstellar beacon, something that stands out from far away.

05:22The region near Jupiter is another big reason.

05:26It's almost like it's an ideal parking spot, where space technology could basically hang out without using much fuel at all.

05:34In other words, if you were going to place advanced satellites somewhere to watch a planet, well, that's prime real estate.

05:42Pretty cool, huh?

05:44But as fun as that theory is, we gotta come back down to Earth for a second.

05:49According to the major space agencies, this thing is a comet, case closed.

05:54But that label doesn't make it any less special.

05:583i Atlas is still a total weirdo, in the best way.

06:01And it stands out for a bunch of reasons.

06:04Let's look at three of the most important ones.

06:07First, this object is old.

06:09Like, really old.

06:11Older than me.

06:12Scientists think it's been traveling through space for at least 7 billion years.

06:17That's so far back in time that it was formed before our Sun and Earth even existed.

06:22So yeah, it's probably the most ancient thing we've ever seen in our cosmic neighborhood.

06:28Second, it's glow.

06:30Comets can sometimes look kind of green.

06:33And here's why.

06:34When a comet gets closer to the Sun, the ice inside it heats up and starts releasing gas.

06:40I know the feeling.

06:42Some of that gas is made of carbon-based molecules, especially one called diatomic carbon, or C2.

06:50When sunlight hits those molecules, they light up.

06:53And to us, that glow shows up as green.

06:56But with 3i atlas, that green color is, well, confusing.

07:01The data suggests that this comet is actually low on those carbon chain molecules.

07:06So, the big mystery is, if it doesn't have much C2, how is it glowing green at all?

07:13Well, nobody knows.

07:15And now, the third thing that makes this comet stand out.

07:19It seems to be giving off a metal alloy we've basically never seen in nature.

07:24So, this comet is releasing a plume that contains nickel.

07:28That's normal.

07:29What's strange is what's missing.

07:32Iron.

07:33In comets, nickel and iron usually show up in pretty similar amounts.

07:37Here, we're seeing nickel, but no clear sign of iron.

07:41And that's almost unheard of.

07:44If the data holds up, it points to an alloy called nickel tetracarbonol,

07:50something we've only ever seen before in human-made industrial processes, not out in space.

07:56No other known object has shown this kind of signature.

08:00Well, now that you're familiar with 3i atlas, we gotta answer the biggest question of all.

08:05Is it a threat to us?

08:08Good news!

08:08No, the comet isn't dangerous, and it's going to stay really far from Earth.

08:13So, we can all take a deep breath.

08:17Well, I feel better.

08:19Although it's harmless, tracking it has been super valuable for planetary defense.

08:24You see, space agencies are always watching asteroids and comets,

08:28running the numbers on their orbits,

08:30and making sure we'd get a warning if something ever did head our way.

08:34But 3i atlas gave them something new to practice with.

08:39This is the first time tracking data from spacecraft orbiting another planet

08:43were officially submitted to and accepted by the Minor Planet Center.

08:49That's the big global database where asteroid and comet observations get collected and checked,

08:54so scientists everywhere can stay on the same page.

08:58So, in a way, 3i atlas was like a rehearsal.

09:02Gathering data like this from a totally new setup helps researchers sharpen their methods

09:08and improve how we spot future space objects.

09:12And that means better detection, faster tracking, and more readiness,

09:16just in case the next visitor isn't quite so friendly.

09:20Uh-oh.

09:21That's it for today.

09:23So, hey, if you pacified your curiosity,

09:25then give the video a like and share it with your friends.

09:28Or, if you want more, just click on these videos and stay on the Bright Side!

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