Overview
- Leading IKI RAN researcher Nathan Eismont told TASS that 3I/ATLAS shows no evidence of extraterrestrial engineering and behaves as a normal comet under known physics.
- Eismont argued that the observed acceleration results from reactive forces due to gas and dust outflows, and he dismissed trajectory arguments by noting Halley's Comet moved similarly.
- Avi Loeb wrote that November 11 images showed the body remained intact after its solar pass, which he called a new anomaly and a reason to consider a non-natural explanation.
- Loeb had previously highlighted unusual reports including color changes, apparent self-luminosity, and significant mass loss, while other researchers attribute such effects to cometary activity.
- 3I/ATLAS was discovered on July 1 by the ATLAS survey and is the third known interstellar object after 'Oumuamua and 2I/Borisov.