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LiveScience
LiveScience
Harry Baker

Astronomers detect first 'radio signal' from interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS — but it wasn't aliens

A photo of two radio dishes pointed up at the night sky.

Astronomers have detected the first-ever "radio signal" coming from the interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS, right as it passed the halfway mark on its oneway trip through the solar system. And while this may seem like ostensible proof of the comet’s supposed alien origins — it's actually the complete opposite.

3I/ATLAS is the third-known interstellar object (ISO) to pass through our cosmic neighborhood. It was first spotted in early July, speeding toward the sun at more than 130,000 mph (210,000 km/h), although observations dating back to May have since been uncovered. Most researchers agree that it is a comet, potentially the oldest of its kind ever seen, that was catapulted out of an alien star system in the "frontier" region of the Milky Way up to 7 billion years ago.

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