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International Business Times UK
International Business Times UK
Giuliano de Leon

3I/ATLAS Mystery Solved: Cox Reveals it's a Pristine Lump of Rock and Ice

Brian Cox NASA Earth Avi Loeb 3IAtlas Sun
Hubble captured this image of the interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS on 21 July 2025, when the comet was 277 million miles from Earth. Hubble shows that the comet has a teardrop-shaped cocoon of dust coming off its solid, icy nucleus. (Credit: NASA, ESA, David Jewitt UCLA/NASA)

The world's fascination with 3I/ATLAS has finally met a scientific answer. Professor Brian Cox, a physicist from the University of Manchester, has declared that the mysterious interstellar object is nothing more than a 'pristine lump of rock and ices'.

3I/ATLAS was first detected on 1 July 2025 by NASA's Asteroid Terrestrial-impact Last Alert System (ATLAS) in Rio Hurtado, Chile. Its strange path through space puzzled experts and sparked viral speculation. Theories spread quickly online — from alien technology to government cover-ups. Cox, however, believes the mystery can now rest.

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International Business Times UK
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