Scientist Calls Out NASA Over 3I/ATLAS Data

After weeks of silence during the U.S. government shutdown, NASA finally held a press conference on November 20th to address 3I/ATLAS, the third interstellar object ever detected passing through our solar system. What scientists received, according to Harvard Professor Avi Loeb, was a collection of fuzzy images and information the astronomical community already possessed. Dr. Loeb stated he predicted the outcome an hour before the briefing began, expecting NASA to repeat what he called “the official mantra” that 3I/ATLAS is a natural comet and that processing delays were due to the government shutdown. His prediction proved accurate. 

NASA Associate Administrator Amit Kshatriya opened the briefing by addressing what he termed “rumors,” stating the object is a comet, looks and behaves like a comet, and all evidence points to it being a comet. The space agency presented images from nearly 20 missions including Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, Hubble Space Telescope, James Webb Space Telescope, and several others. However, as Loeb explained in his post-briefing interview, the images were fuzzy and did not add much insight to the properties of 3I/ATLAS. The scientific community had already analyzed the Hubble data from July showing nucleus size estimates and the James Webb spectroscopy revealing carbon dioxide composition. Even more problematic, NASA openly admitted quality issues with several images, with the HiRISE image from Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter showing only what Amit described as a “fuzzy ball of light.”

HiRISE image of 3I/ATLAS

In contrast, amateur astronomers using commercially available telescopes captured detailed images showing seven distinct jets, ionic tails, anti-tails, and dust particle structures that NASA did not prominently feature. According to Loeb’s analysis documented across multiple interviews with Fox News and NewsNation, there are 12 specific anomalies about 3I/ATLAS that NASA failed to address. The most significant concerns mass and statistical probability. Based on NASA’s own size estimates ranging from a couple thousand feet to a couple miles in diameter, the mass of 3I/ATLAS could be a million times greater than Oumuamua, the first interstellar object discovered in 2017, and a thousand times greater than 2I/Borisov from 2019. Loeb questioned why humanity has not detected a million smaller Oumuamuas first, given the limited reservoir of material in interstellar space, calling this “an important question that they do not even mention.”

New images from the Nordic Optical Telescope, in the Canary Islands, Spain. The evolution of the glow around 3I/ATLAS shows a transition from an anti-tail towards the Sun to a tail away from the Sun. The brightest pixel is marked by a red dot. Sunward is West and distance from Sun at each date is expressed in units of the Earth-Sun separation (au). (Credit: Jewitt and Luu 2025) - Description from Avi Loeb

Additional anomalies include the object’s trajectory alignment with the planetary plane, which NASA acknowledged made observation easier but did not address as statistically unusual for a randomly entering interstellar object. The jet behavior also raises questions, according to Loeb’s analysis. Amateur observations show tightly collimated jets that remain focused despite the object rotating every 16 hours. In standard comet models, rotation should cause jets to appear wiggly or smeared as active regions change direction, but these jets maintain beam-like focus. NASA mentioned seeing jets around perihelion but categorized this as typical comet behavior without explaining the tight collimation.

Not all scientists share Loeb’s emphasis on anomalies. Ken Gayley from the University of Iowa explained in a NewsNation interview that interstellar comets should naturally look different from solar system comets due to billions of years of cosmic ray bombardment altering their outer layers. The reddish color and high carbon dioxide composition make sense for an object with such extended galactic travel time. Ken emphasized that science works by checking natural explanations before considering unlikely scenarios, though he agreed all questions should be explored. The criticism leveled at NASA is not the conclusion itself but how the agency presented definitive certainty while avoiding discussion of documented puzzles that remain unexplained.

The object will make its closest approach to Earth on December 19th, 2025, with multiple observatories scheduled to conduct additional observations. According to Loeb’s statement, substantial data should be available by that date to help determine whether all components of 3I/ATLAS can be explained by natural ice and dust processes, or whether aspects exist that current comet models cannot account for. The briefing ultimately revealed how space agencies handle scientific uncertainty, with NASA choosing to project confidence in their comet conclusion rather than acknowledging the anomalies that independent researchers continue to document and question.

Sources

Dinner, J. (2025, November 3). NASA is sinking its flagship science center during the government shutdown — and may be breaking the law in the… Space. https://www.space.com/space-exploration/nasa-is-sinking-its-flagship-science-center-during-the-government-shutdown-and-may-be-breaking-the-law-in-the-process

FOX 10 Phoenix. (2025, November 19). FIRST REACTION: New NASA images of “alien object” 3I/Atlas | UNKNOWN | FOX 10 Phoenix [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SjbSmj28e74

NASA. (2025, November 19). NASA shares interstellar Comet 3I/ATLAS Images [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A55SUq2eDXg

NASA to share Comet 3I/ATLAS images from spacecraft, telescopes — NASA. (n.d.). NASA. https://www.nasa.gov/news-release/nasa-to-share-comet-3i-atlas-images-from-spacecraft-telescopes/?utm_source=TWITTER&utm_medium=NASA&utm_campaign=NASASocial&linkId=879164498

NewsNation. (2025, November 20). Truth about 3I/ATLAS won’t come until next month: Avi Loeb | Elizabeth Vargas Reports [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=naPr8B23XC4