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International Business Times UK
International Business Times UK
Briane Nebria

3I/ATLAS: 'Wrong Way' Tail Pointing at Sun Has Scientists 'Stumped'

Sun Atlas Solar System 3IAtlas Avi Loeb Earth NASA NSF
Viral TikToks claim interstellar 3I/ATLAS 'seen' on Earth as alien craft (Credit: Richard Bartz : Pexels)

The cosmos rarely sends a messenger right to our doorstep. Even rarer is a messenger that defies explanation. The interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS, first discovered on July 1, 2025, by the ATLAS survey telescope in Chile, has arrived, an object originating from a star system light-years away, and it is currently rewriting the celestial rulebook.

This mysterious visitor is only the third confirmed interstellar comet humans have ever observed, following the infamous 'Oumuamua and 2I/Borisov. Like its predecessors, 3I/Atlas is captivating researchers globally, not just for its alien origin, but for a bizarre and unique new feature: an unexpected 'anti-tail'.

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