The cosmos often surprises us, but rarely does it present two such monumental, simultaneous mysteries as the interstellar object 3I/ATLAS and the solar system's silent entry into a dense galactic region.
When NASA held its eagerly anticipated press conference on 19 November, many hoped for a definitive answer about the bizarre, mile-wide visitor racing through our neighbourhood. Instead, the agency reiterated its official, simple mantra: 3I/ATLAS is a 'natural comet', and the delays were due to a government shutdown.
