Why is the "alien" hypothesis flaring up around comet 3I/ATLAS?

(Dan Tri) - The hypothesis that comet 3I/ATLAS is an "artificial" object has created misinformation and distracted the public from the most important thing.

NASA recently released a series of new images of the interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS, including the closest observations ever recorded.

Previously, on October 29, comet 3I/ATLAS approached its closest point to the Sun, about 210 million km away.

For weeks, the Sun obscured it from view from Earth. Now, ground-based telescopes are beginning to see it again.

It is the third interstellar object (designated “3I”) ever discovered flying through the Solar System.

The question “aliens?” and history repeating itself

According to Livescience, 3I/ATLAS was discovered on July 1 by the Asteroid Alert System (ATLAS). Immediately, the question "Is that alien?" appeared.

Interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS, captured by the Hubble Space Telescope on July 21, 2025 (Photo: NASA).

This is not the first time scientists have faced such skepticism. Two previous interstellar objects: 1I/'Oumuamua (2017) and 2I/Borisov (2019) have also faced similar doubts.

Not only with interstellar objects, every time there is a new astronomical discovery, the "alien" hypothesis flares up again.

To date, comet 3I/ATLAS may be the oldest object ever to pass through the Solar System.

While our Solar System formed 4.6 billion years ago, new research suggests 3I/ATLAS could be more than 7 billion years old.

It has been wandering among the stars for billions of years, only to stop by the Solar System for a few short months. This may be the closest it has come to a star in millions of years.

Spectral analysis shows that the amount of CO2 in the outer layer of this comet is much higher than most comets in the Solar System.

It also has an unusually high ratio of nickel to other elements, revealing chemical traces of the gas cloud where its star system once formed.

This is why, according to scientists, the question of aliens should be a last resort, only raised when all other possibilities have been eliminated.

If we rush to conclusions, we may miss valuable scientific information about the formation of the star system in which it was born.

“Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence,” astronomer Carl Sagan quoted mathematician Pierre-Simon Laplace as saying.

We can't yet explain all the details of comet 3I/ATLAS, but just because we don't know everything doesn't mean it's evidence for aliens.

When we don't know, we like to… fill in the blanks.

Talking about aliens also facilitates the spread of misinformation.

For example, there have been claims of things like orbital changes and comet 3I/ATLAS "hiding" behind the Sun, although there is no evidence to support this.

Simulations suggest that 3I/Atlas's nucleus is 10–20 km in diameter, but its bright cloud of gas and dust may obscure a much smaller core (illustration).

This shows how easily misinformation is created and spread when we talk about “aliens.”

The European Space Agency (ESA) is now planning to observe the comet using its Mars Express, ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter and Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer to collect more detailed data.

The universe still holds countless unknowns, but when faced with mystery, humans always tend to fill in the blanks with the “alien” hypothesis.

Source: https://dantri.com.vn/khoa-hoc/vi-sao-gia-thuet-nguoi-ngoai-hanh-tinh-bung-len-quanh-sao-choi-3iatlas-20251110233732364.htm