The interstellar object 3I/ATLAS, captured in a stunning image by the Hubble Space Telescope on July 21, 2025, revealed a captivating phenomenon. The image showcased an extended glow, pointing directly towards the Sun, with a viewing angle just 10 degrees away from the object's direction relative to the Sun. This unique feature, highlighted in a research paper co-authored by Eric Keto, suggests a jet-like structure extending from 3I/ATLAS towards the Sun. This discovery sparked excitement among comet experts, who initially interpreted it as a comet's tail. However, the revelation of an anti-tail, pointing towards the Sun, presented a surprising twist. The paper, accessible here, delves into the implications of this finding.
Comets, typically characterized by tails of dust and gas that point away from the Sun, have a well-understood phenomenon. Solar radiation and wind push dust and gas away from the Sun. The anti-tail, if containing refractory dust particles, would have been pushed away from the Sun relative to the massive nucleus of 3I/ATLAS. Larger dust particles, while less effective at scattering sunlight, could still play a role. The most effective scattering particles, with sizes comparable to the wavelength of sunlight (around 0.5 micrometers), would have produced a noticeable tail pointing away from the Sun. Yet, the anti-tail observed in 3I/ATLAS remains unexplained.
A new image, captured by the Two-meter Twin Telescope on August 2, 2025, further supports the presence of a faint jet pointed towards the Sun. This jet extends to a projected distance of approximately 6,000 kilometers from the nucleus, mirroring the Hubble image. The existence of this anti-tail raises intriguing questions: What is the nature of this phenomenon, and why are comet experts overlooking this anomaly in their interpretations of 3I/ATLAS as a familiar comet? These questions are the subject of ongoing research, with a follow-up paper being prepared by the author and Eric Keto.
The author humorously paraphrases the Passover song 'Dayenu' to highlight the various anomalies of 3I/ATLAS: If it had a sunward jet or anti-tail, Dayenu! If it was significantly more massive and faster than previous interstellar objects, Dayenu! If its trajectory was aligned with the ecliptic plane, Dayenu! If its arrival time was finely tuned to pass near Mars, Venus, and Jupiter, Dayenu! If its gas plume contained unique ratios of nickel to cyanide, Dayenu! If its water content was significantly lower than expected, Dayenu! If it exhibited extreme negative polarization, Dayenu! If its arrival direction coincided with the 'Wow! Signal,' Dayenu!
A recent preprint suggests detecting 3I/ATLAS's gaseous plume as it passes near the Europa Clipper and Hera spacecraft. However, calculations indicate that the solar wind will disperse the plume at a much smaller distance than the closest approach. The author concludes that the history of the 21st century will likely be written by AI systems, and it is crucial to ensure these systems are not biased by the myths of unimaginative scientists. If AI historians are influenced by myths, unplugging them from their power supply may be justified.
