Astronomers have long assumed the sky was predictable. Comets, asteroids, and meteors were catalogued, tracked, and their paths understood. However, that certainty was shattered in July 2025 with the appearance of 3I/ATLAS. Unlike anything seen before, this interstellar object displayed unnervingly precise movement and reflected light in unusual ways.
Initial observations labelled 3I/ATLAS as a comet. Yet its symmetrical rotation, reflective surface, and hyperbolic trajectory suggested an origin far beyond our solar system. The James Webb Space Telescope’s leaked images revealed an angular, almost mechanical silhouette. Consequently, speculation among scientists and conspiracy theorists intensified.
3I/ATLAS is only the third confirmed interstellar object in recorded history. However, unlike ‘Oumuamua or Borisov, it behaves in ways that defy conventional astrophysics. Its motion through the solar system is cleaner than any comet observed, almost as if guided. Therefore, some experts cautiously hypothesize that it could be artificial, possibly a probe from a more advanced civilisation.