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[Jitendra Hydonus]

Latest mystery surrounding 31/Atlas comet: Presence of metal alloy
Michael Ramsey
Thu, October 23, 2025 at 12:24 AM EDT
2 min read

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(NewsNation) — The Harvard professor raising questions about the 3I/ATLAS comet passing through our solar system says the hurtling object is giving off chemical signals that do not appear to be natural.

Theoretical physicist Avi Loeb says the Keck II telescope in Hawaii recently collected data that indicates 3I/ATLAS is emitting nickel but little, if any, iron, a characteristic “we only find in industrially produced nickel alloys.” Such a compound is used in metal coatings to fortify surfaces, the New York Post notes in its own interview with the astrophysicist.

Loeb has become a familiar figure in news coverage about 3I/ATLAS because of his startling theory that the comet could be some form of alien tech. For months, he has been highlighting the object’s lack of a traditional comet’s tail, its curious trajectory through our Milky Way and its unusually large size (at least 3.5 miles in diameter).

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“It’s at least a thousand times more massive than the previous interstellar objects we’ve seen,” Loeb told “Elizabeth Vargas Reports” on Wednesday. “And the question is why is such a giant object delivered to our inner solar system, when we saw only small ones before?”

3I/ATLAS could be ‘black swan event’: Avi Loeb

Big blue light surrounded by smaller dashes of light -- a visual image of comet 3I/ATLAS
NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope captured this image of interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS on July 21, 2025, when the comet was 277 million miles from Earth. (NASA)
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He argues that the international community should get on the same page about what to do if extraterrestrials or their drones come into proximity with Earth.

“We should keep our eyes open and not assume anything because it could be a ‘black swan event,’ where something that looks natural at first ends up being like a Trojan Horse,” Loeb says. “Because the implications are so huge for humanity, we must consider it seriously.”

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3I/Atlas is expected to disappear behind the sun late this month and pass Jupiter early next year before leaving our galaxy, according to NASA, which considers the object a comet that poses no danger.

Loeb, on the other hand, likens the object to an interstellar “blind date.”

“You often assume that the dating partner would be very friendly, but you have to worry about serial killers, as well,” he said.

Why is comet called ‘3I/ATLAS’?

The name 3I/ATLAS derives from the fact that it’s the third known interstellar object to enter our solar system; it was discovered by the Asteroid Terrestrial-impact Last Alert System.

Loeb said Oct. 2 images taken by NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter should yield the clearest pictures yet of 3I/Atlas, but they have not been released.

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