Overview
- NASA and global observatories classify 3I/ATLAS as a natural comet based on its hyperbolic trajectory and active coma
- Recent studies place its nucleus at about 11.2 kilometers in diameter, making it the largest interstellar object recorded
- Orbit calculations show it will stay at least 1.6 astronomical units from Earth, eliminating any impact risk
- Mainstream researchers, including Samantha Lawler and Chris Lintott, dismiss artificial‐probe claims as lacking evidence
- A minority led by Avi Loeb continues to push for non-gravitational acceleration and radio-survey tests to examine technological origins