Astronomers studying the interstellar object 3I/ATLAS have observed a striking change in its appearance. The body, which entered the Solar System earlier this year, appears to have reversed the direction of its dust tail as it moved closer to the Sun. The unexpected shift has prompted renewed debate among researchers about the object's origins and behaviour.
The first observations showed 3I/ATLAS displaying a rare 'anti-tail', a plume of dust pointing towards the Sun rather than away from it. Such a configuration is extremely unusual for a comet, whose dust is normally blown in the opposite direction by solar radiation. In recent months, however, astronomers have reported that the anti-tail has evolved into a conventional tail aligned away from the Sun.
