Interstellar Visitor 3I → ATLAS Sparks Scientific Curiosity And Debate

As the interstellar visitor 3I → ATLAS makes its closest approach to Earth, astronomers are abuzz with excitement and curiosity. Officially designated as C → 2025 N1, this celestial ___ has captivated the scientific community with its unusual behavior, sparking debate and puzzling experts. The third confirmed interstellar comet to enter the Solar System, 3I → ATLAS was discovered in early 2025 by the ATLAS survey.

Its origin, like that of its predecessors ‘Oumuamua and 2I → Borisov, lies outside the Solar System. A visualisation of its path reveals a retrograde orbit, moving in the opposite direction to most planets, and tilted nearly perpendicular to the ecliptic plane. This unusual alignment has allowed 3I → ATLAS to skim by multiple planets without a dangerously close encounter with Earth, maintaining a safe distance during its periapsis.

NASA continues to monitor the object closely, providing ongoing updates. However, Harvard astrophysicist Avi Loeb has pointed to a series of anomalies that challenge conventional explanations for its behavior. Loeb, a vocal proponent of considering extraterrestrial technology in unexplained phenomena, has compiled a list of 15 peculiarities that set 3I → ATLAS apart from ← →