Overview
- The latest processed photo released on November 9 by Michael Buechner and Frank Niebling shows two sunward anti-tail jets about 0.95 million kilometres long and an anti-sunward jet roughly 2.85 million kilometres long.
- Harvard astrophysicist Avi Loeb highlighted the jet structures and argued in new commentary that the object could be artificial, citing an inferred mass over 50 billion tons, though this interpretation remains unproven.
- JPL has reported non-gravitational acceleration in 3I/ATLAS’s motion, while many researchers cited in the coverage say the observations are unusual yet consistent with natural cometary activity.
- NASA has stated that 3I/ATLAS poses no immediate threat to Earth, and reporting notes that NASA and the International Asteroid Warning Network have begun an observation campaign.
- Unverified online clips and posts claim a “large vessel” near the object and suggest a quiet activation of planetary defense measures, but these claims are not corroborated in the reporting.