Catch a comet by its tail

The comet Atlas — or maybe we should say “comet,” because things are getting weird — is back in the news again.

For months now, Harvard Professor Avi Loeb has been talking about the strange anomalies surrounding Comet 3I/ATLAS. Researchers have noted unusual behavior, odd trajectories, and now we have the latest curveball.

Today, Loeb published a new analysis after reviewing the latest post-perihelion images released by NASA. And according to him…

There’s no comet tail.

That’s right. This object doesn’t appear to be producing the tail you’d expect at this stage.

Which is, naturally, a little strange — considering that comets are known for having tails, especially when they get this close to the Sun. The whole thing raises more questions than answers.

You can read Loeb’s full write-up here:

So where does that leave us?

Right now, it leaves us waiting.
The comet (or object, or whatever label we want to cautiously use) makes its closest approach in December, which means we have plenty of time for more data, more analysis… and probably more conversation from Avi Loeb. He never shies away from wondering aloud when something looks out of place in the cosmos.

And honestly? We’re here for it.

Are we saying it’s aliens?
No.
Are we saying people who are saying it’s aliens are automatically wrong?
Also no.

Let’s just say this:
The universe is strange.
Sometimes stranger than we’re prepared for.

So we’ll watch.
We’ll wait.
And we’ll see what this thing in the sky decides to show us next.

December is going to be interesting.