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Space
Space
Science
Mike Wall

Interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS is not an alien spacecraft: SETI hunt for 'technosignatures' comes up empty

Sofia Sheikh SETI Institute
Interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS (C/2025 N1) as seen by the Subaru Telescope on December 13, 2025.

Sorry, true believers: It appears the interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS is indeed just a comet.

Radio astronomers recently hunted for "technosignatures" coming from 3I/ATLAS, which is just the third confirmed interstellar object ever seen in our solar system. As expected, that search came up empty — but it still gathered valuable data, the scientists said.

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