NASA has confirmed the mysterious interstellar object 3I/ATLAS is a comet, not an alien spacecraft. But the space agency's blurry images released during a Wednesday press conference sparked fierce backlash from viewers who accused NASA of covering up the truth.
The agency released new photos its Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter captured from 19 million miles away. NASA's Associate Administrator Amit Kshatriya declared: «This object is a comet.» He added: «It looks and behaves like a comet, and all evidence points towards it being a comet.» The images showed grainy specks of light against a dark background, with one "clearest" photo displaying only chemical elements rather than the object itself.
Social Media Erupts
The image quality triggered a wave of anger online. Users flooded social media with accusations that NASA was hiding clearer photos. «What a waste of time! NASA is lying so bad. They are all so scripted. The gaslighting is off the charts,» one person wrote. Another demanded: «You have lost all credibility with this blurry hogwash photo. Anyone over there who cares about Earth should dump the entire unedited image archive to Wikileaks.»
SpaceX CEO Elon Musk added fuel to the fire. In response to NASA's announcement, he posted a single word on X: «Alienz» The comment sparked further speculation, with one user responding: «I'm not saying it's aliens, but it's aliens»
Loeb's Alien Warning
The controversy centers on claims by Harvard astrophysicist Avi Loeb, who suggested 3I/ATLAS could be alien technology. Hours before NASA's press conference, Loeb wrote in a blog post: «If an interstellar object happens to be technological, it could pose a threat to humanity.» He described his "Loeb Scale" where «[...] a rank of '0' implies a natural comet and a rank of '10' corresponds to alien technology that threatens humanity.»
Loeb warned: «We do not have a response protocol for alien technology, but after the first encounter — as long as we survive it — there will be political will to invest trillions of dollars in a warning system of interceptors that take close-up photos of anomalous interstellar objects.»
He previously identified at least 11 unexplained anomalies about 3I/ATLAS, including a cometary tail pointing in the wrong direction and course changes that defy gravity.
NASA Stands Firm
NASA's Nicky Fox, associate administrator for the Science Mission Directorate, dismissed the speculation. «We certainly haven't seen any technosignatures (technological signals) or anything from it that would lead us to believe it was anything other than a comet,» she said. Fox explained the object's irregularities by noting: «It's gonna look different because it didn't come from our solar system.»
Kshatriya addressed the speculation positively, saying he thought «[...] it is great the world is speculating about the comet.» He added that what's «[...] really awesome is that folks are interested» in the possibility of what the universe could hold.
Mars Life Signals
During the same press conference, Kshatriya revealed another development. «Just a few months ago we talked about what we think might be the signal from ancient life on the surface of Mars from our amazing machines that have been roving the planet,» he said. «It could be an amazing discovery if we can confirm it.»
What Happens Next
3I/ATLAS is the third confirmed object from outside our solar system to enter Earth's neighborhood. It will make its closest approach to Earth on December 19, 2025, at a distance of 167 million miles. The object is traveling at 130,000mph and will pass near Jupiter early next year before leaving the solar system.
Dozens of observatories are monitoring its trajectory. Loeb concluded his blog post with a pointed message: «[...] Let us hope that it will not deliver us any unwanted gifts for the holidays.»
Note: This article was created with Artificial Intelligence (AI).
