3I/ATLAS captured the world’s attention last month as the comet raced past the Earth, but some believed that it could have been an “alien spacecraft” reaching us
08:09, 25 Jan 2026Updated 09:07, 25 Jan 2026
3I/ATLAS is continuing to spark intrigue among scientists galore (stock)(Image: NASA / SWNS)
Scientists are looking into the possibility that ‘alien spaceship’ 3I/ATLAS could have come from within our own solar system. This would challenge the belief that the comet was an “interstellar object” just whizzing through.
3I/ATLAS caught the world’s attention in December as it came its closest to Earth, racing past the world at a huge speed of over 200,000 kilometres an hour. However, whilst many believed it to be a simple asteroid making its way through our solar system, others thought it could have been aliens trying to contact Earth.
Since being confirmed as an actual comet, some boffins are now turning their attention to where the asteroid actually came from. Some researchers now believe that the ” alien spaceship” that 3I/ATLAS was supposed to be could have come from our own solar system.
Scientists are exploring the possibility 3I/ATLAS came from within our own solar system(Image: M. Jäger, G. Rhemann, and E. Prosperi)
Physicist Avi Loeb explained that in his view, the asteroid could have still been some form of alien spacecraft, as it appeared to have “mini-jets”, as well as creating a second “anti-tail”. He explained that if it had come from our solar system, it would make more sense given how it aligned with the planets’ orbits.
Loeb had been one of the largest supporters of the alien theory for 3I/ATLAS, arguing that it could have been a sign from a hidden civilisation. Now, he says that by appearing around once every 5 years, and its huge mass, suggests it could be seen almost like a taxi going from one side of the solar system to the other.
“This could also explain the geometric anomalies associated with the alignment between the path of 3I/ATLAS and the ecliptic plane, the alignment of its rotation axis and the Sun, the appearance of a symmetric system of mini-jets and an anti-tail jet emanating from it, its high nickel-to-iron ratio, as well as the other anomalies,” Avi said.
Avi Loeb said the asteroids could only become visible once they were reflecting light from the Sun (stock)(Image: Getty)
He explained that even though our space tech is incredibly advanced, our telescopes can only detect objects that are reflecting sunlight up to a certain distance before the light becomes too weak to properly see. “The Sun is our local lamppost and we can only find “keys” that are big enough and close enough to this lamppost,” he added.
Avi also suggested that 3I/ATLAS could come from a new group of masses unseen by scientists before, named Trans-Neptunian Technological Objects (TNTOs). He argued that objects such as 3I/ATLAS could be used as a “natural iceberg”, used by a secret civilisation to hitchhike right across the Kuiper Belt on the edge of our solar system, and cut through our solar system as a shortcut, under the guise of being a natural object.
He went on to suggest that some objects like 3I/ATLAS could in fact be able to generate their own artificial light, something that could be an astonishing development in our understanding of space if it were proven true. 3I/ATLAS has already been seen to “change colour” as it came close to Earth, only hardening Loeb’s conviction that it was in fact an alien spacecraft.
31/ATLAS, seen here with a Hubble Space Telescope camera, could in fact have been akin to a space “taxi”(Image: NASA/ESA/STScI)
Avi later blasted Mike Brown, the man who led the charge which eventually had Pluto demoted as a planet, for his arrogance during a meeting he had with him ten years ago. He said that in order to learn about the universe, humanity needs “humility”.
“If we ever discover an object that produces artificial light, we would be motivated to send our own spacecraft out there,” he ended. “I would be the first in line to board that spacecraft.”
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