Cosmic mystery deepens as 3I/ATLAS interstellar object shows sunward glow

A mysterious 3I/ATLAS interstellar object has once again baffled scientists with its unusual trajectory in the solar system.

In the image captured by the Two-Meter Twin Telescope in the Canary Islands, 3I/ATLAS was seen with a faint jet or anti-tail roughly 3.7 miles from the object’s nucleus, pointing towards the sun.

Having been considered 3I/ATLAS as a comet by some scientists, this feature is quite unusual as comet tails are pushed away from the sun due to solar wind and radiation.

According to Harvard astrophysicist Avi Loeb “The existence of an anti-tail pointed toward the sun is an anomaly that raises two questions: What is the nature of the anti-tail?”

“Why are comet experts ignoring this anomaly while insisting that 3I/ATLAS is a familiar comet?” he added.

Earlier, this phenomenon was also captured by the Hubble Space Telescope in late July, demonstrating extended aimed sunward.

Loeb explained that the glow was roughly ten times longer than it was wide, exhibiting the geometry of a jet directed at the sun, unlike usual comets.

He further questioned the other experts who claimed 3I/ATLAS acts like a comet, but they failed to observe the jet that is towards the sun.

According to Loeb, this atypical orientation could indicate the object is emitting large and heavy particles less impacted by sunlight.

Earlier, the Harvard professor projected the extraterrestrial nature of the object, which was first spotted on July 1.