
Astronomers around the world are grappling with unexpected energetic and compositional behaviour observed in the interstellar visitor 3I/ATLAS, forcing fresh scrutiny of longstanding assumptions about cometary physics.
3I/ATLAS has already become one of the most intensively studied extraterrestrial objects in human history, yet its behaviour remains enigmatic. Astronomers expected an interstellar comet to conform broadly to known patterns of cometary physics, but 3I/ATLAS continues to surprise with energetic features that resist straightforward explanation, including a composition dominated by carbon dioxide and unusual jet structures.