Overview
- A Spanish‑led preprint reports cryovolcanism on 3I/ATLAS and a spectral match to carbonaceous chondrites and trans‑Neptunian bodies, though the findings are not yet peer reviewed.
- High‑resolution observations near perihelion captured multiple jets and a sun‑facing teardrop anti‑tail, with researchers attributing the activity to volatile ices and metal‑driven chemistry.
- Observers have measured a roughly 16.16‑hour periodic brightening, which many scientists interpret as rotation exposing active vents across the surface.
- Harvard’s Avi Loeb has floated a speculative ‘swarm’ explanation for the anti‑tail and raised technological hypotheses, while NASA officials say no technosignatures have been detected.
- The third known interstellar object will pass safely at about 170 million miles from Earth on December 19, with size estimates ranging from roughly 1,400 feet to 3.5 miles and a Jupiter encounter expected in March 2026.