Comet 3I/ATLAS Today (15 November 2025): ESA Path Update, Tail Revival, Radio Signals and Alien Claims Explained

Updated: 15 November 2025

The interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS (C/2025 N1 ATLAS) is back in our morning sky and back in the headlines. On 15 November 2025, new images, refined orbital calculations and fresh commentary have sharpened our picture of this rare visitor from another star system — while also fuelling yet another round of “is it aliens?” speculation.

Below is a clear, science‑grounded roundup of everything new about 3I/ATLAS as of today, plus what it means for Earth and for anyone hoping to spot the comet before it disappears back into deep space.

What is Comet 3I/ATLAS?

3I/ATLAS is only the third confirmed interstellar object ever seen passing through our Solar System, after 1I/ʻOumuamua (2017) and 2I/Borisov (2019). It was discovered on 1 July 2025 by the ATLAS survey telescope in Chile and later given the comet designation C/2025 N1 (ATLAS). ^[1]

Key points scientists agree on:

It’s on a hyperbolic (unbound) orbit, meaning it came from outside the Solar System and won’t return once it leaves. ^[2]
The nucleus is probably between ~0.3 and 5–6 km across, cloaked in a bright coma of gas and dust driven off by sunlight. ^[3]
Its composition looks broadly comet‑like (water, dust, carbon monoxide and carbon dioxide), although with some unusual features such as elevated nickel and CO₂. ^[4]

In other words: 3I/ATLAS is weird and valuable scientifically, but still very much a comet.

Today’s Biggest 3I/ATLAS Headlines (15 November 2025)

1. “Survival behind the Sun” sparks fresh alien‑craft chatter

A widely shared piece from The Economic Times this morning highlights new images taken on 11 November with the Nordic Optical Telescope in Spain, showing that 3I/ATLAS emerged from its close pass behind the Sun as a single, intact, active body after its 30 October perihelion. ^[5]

Harvard astronomer Avi Loeb is quoted doubling down on his suggestion that the comet may be artificial, arguing that:

The apparent strength and scale of its gas jets would require an unrealistically large active area if it were a normal icy nucleus.
Its continued structural integrity after intense solar heating is, in his view, hard to reconcile with a fragile “dirty snowball.” ^[6]

However, the same article and others note that multiple comet specialists say the behavior is consistent with a robust, naturally formed nucleus and energetic outgassing — not proof of alien engineering. ^[7]

2. ESA sharpens 3I/ATLAS’s orbit using Mars data

In a paper highlighted today via Phys.org, the European Space Agency reports that it has improved the predicted path of 3I/ATLAS by roughly an order of magnitude, thanks to observations from the ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter (TGO)in Mars orbit. ^[8]

Why this matters:

TGO’s CaSSIS camera captured 3I/ATLAS as it swept past Mars in early October.
Combining those images with ground‑based data allows ESA to pin down the comet’s position and future trajectory far more precisely.
Better orbital accuracy is crucial for both planetary‑defense tracking and for pointing telescopes that are racing to observe the comet before it fades. ^[9]

The refined orbit still shows no impact risk for Earth.

3. The “missing tail” is back — and bigger than ever

Earlier in November, some astronomers (and especially commentators online) were puzzled when 3I/ATLAS appeared to lose its tail after perihelion, despite vigorous outgassing. That gap helped fuel claims that the object is “anomalous.” ^[10]

A new image released this week by the Virtual Telescope Project and covered today by outlets such as USA Herald shows that the comet’s ion tail has dramatically re‑appeared:

It is now described as longer, brighter and more structured than before.
The image, taken around 11 November (UTC) from Italy, stacks multiple long exposures and reveals a sharply defined plasma tail despite a bright Moon and low altitude. ^[11]

This strongly suggests the “tail disappearance” was primarily a geometry and sensitivity issue — 3I/ATLAS was too close to the Sun’s glare, at an awkward angle, and simply too faint for many setups rather than physically losing all of its tail.

4. HiRISE images from Mars: still pending, but likely imminent

In a new Medium post dated today, Avi Loeb notes that high‑resolution images from the HiRISE camera on NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO), taken when 3I/ATLAS passed within about 29 million km of Mars on 3 October, have still not been publicly released. ^[12]

According to Loeb:

Internal NASA notes classify any HiRISE images of 3I/ATLAS as “NASA‑wide news.”
The recent extended U.S. government shutdown may have delayed processing and publication.

He expects the images to be released “within a few days.” There is no evidence that the delay is due to anything mysterious about the comet; big mission data releases often lag observations by weeks or months.

5. New study explains “non‑gravitational acceleration” without aliens

A new article on IFLScience, published yesterday but widely shared today, summarises a peer‑reviewed study that tackles one of the more hyped “anomalies”: the comet’s non‑gravitational acceleration — the tiny extra push it gets beyond what gravity alone predicts. ^[13]

The study’s conclusion:

The extra acceleration is fully consistent with jetting from sublimating ices (water, CO₂ and other volatiles) as the comet heats up near the Sun.
You do not need exotic physics or alien propulsion to match the data; a lopsided pattern of natural jets does the job.

This supports earlier statements from NASA orbit‑determination experts who attributed the effect to classic cometary outgassing.

Radio Signals From 3I/ATLAS: What Astronomers Really Detected

Another major development this week has been widely misreported as “alien radio signals.” In reality, astronomers using South Africa’s MeerKAT radio telescope array have detected the first radio emission ever seen from an interstellar comet, but it’s firmly natural. ^[14]

According to coverage in outlets like Live Science, Discover and The Times of India: ^[15]

MeerKAT picked up characteristic radio emission from hydroxyl (OH) radicals — fragments produced when ultraviolet sunlight breaks apart water molecules streaming off the comet.
This type of signal is well‑known from ordinary comets in our own Solar System and is considered a textbook signature of water‑rich outgassing, not technology.
The detection is particularly exciting because it gives the first radio‑level look at the chemistry of an interstellar comet, confirming that 3I/ATLAS is rich in water ice.

So yes, 3I/ATLAS is “broadcasting,” but only in the sense that all active comets leak molecules that glow at radio wavelengths.

Is 3I/ATLAS an Alien Spacecraft?

Short answer: Overwhelmingly, scientists say no.

Here’s where things stand as of today:

Avi Loeb and a small number of commentators continue to argue that features such as the comet’s acceleration, tail behavior and structural resilience could be hints of alien technology, sometimes suggesting a “40% chance” that 3I/ATLAS is artificial. ^[16]
Mainstream comet researchers, including teams at NASA, ESA and independent astronomers, consistently find natural explanations for each claimed anomaly: outgassing jets, viewing geometry, image processing artefacts, and perfectly ordinary comet physics. ^[17]
Detailed rebuttals from astronomers like Jason Wright and others point out that cherry‑picked images and simplified assumptions can make a normal comet look suspicious, but that the full dataset doesn’t support an engineered object. ^[18]

Even strongly worded popular pieces — including BBC Sky at Night’s “it’s never aliens” breakdown — emphasise that while 3I/ATLAS is scientifically extraordinary, every robust measurement so far fits comfortably within known comet behavior. ^[19]

Speculation about alien probes makes for flashy headlines, but it’s not where the evidence points.

Where Is 3I/ATLAS Today, and Can You See It?

As of 15 November 2025, 3I/ATLAS:

Is located in the constellation Virgo, low in the pre‑dawn eastern sky for observers in the Northern Hemisphere. ^[20]
Shines around magnitude ~10–12, far too faint for the naked eye or ordinary binoculars, but within reach of medium to large amateur telescopes and sensitive astrophotography setups. ^[21]
Appears visually as a small, fuzzy “out‑of‑focus star” with a tiny coma and thin tail, especially in long exposures. ^[22]

Over the next few weeks:

3I/ATLAS will climb higher before dawn, drifting from Virgo toward Leo and heading for its closest approach to Earth on 19 December 2025, still at a safe distance of roughly 1.8 AU (about 270 million km). ^[23]
It is not expected to ever become a naked‑eye spectacle, but smart telescopes and experienced astrophotographers should continue to pull out striking images throughout late 2025 and into early 2026. ^[24]

For exact coordinates and up‑to‑the‑minute brightness, tools like TheSkyLive’s live 3I/ATLAS page and NASA’s “Eyes on the Solar System” simulator can provide real‑time finder charts and 3D orbit views. ^[25]

Does 3I/ATLAS Pose Any Danger to Earth?

No. All current solutions agree that 3I/ATLAS will not hit Earth.

Both NASA and international partners have repeatedly confirmed that the comet’s path keeps it nearly twice as far away as the Earth–Sun distance at closest approach. ^[26]
The object has been formally integrated into planetary‑defense tracking networks such as the International Asteroid Warning Network (IAWN), not because it’s dangerous, but because it’s an excellent test case for monitoring unusual objects. ^[27]
ESA’s new Mars‑assisted orbit refinement reduces already tiny uncertainties even further, ensuring that any potential risk in the coming years would be picked up well in advance — and no such risk appears. ^[28]

In practical terms, 3I/ATLAS is a spectacular scientific opportunity, not a threat.

Why 3I/ATLAS Matters So Much

Beyond the social‑media drama, scientists are genuinely excited about 3I/ATLAS because it offers:

A sample of material from another planetary system, shaped in a different stellar nursery billions of years ago. ^[29]
A chance to compare interstellar comet chemistry and structure to our own Oort‑cloud and Kuiper‑belt comets.
A natural laboratory for testing how well we can track, image and characterise fast‑moving objects on hyperbolic orbits that swoop through the inner Solar System and vanish forever. ^[30]

The next few weeks — as more images from Mars orbiters, Hubble, JWST and ground‑based telescopes are processed and released — are likely to bring even more detail about its nucleus size, jet structure, rotation and chemistry.

What they are not expected to bring is a shocking reveal that 3I/ATLAS is an alien craft. All signs so far say it’s something arguably even cooler: a fossil fragment of another star’s ancient comet cloud, just passing through.

Is It A Comet or Alien Technology?

Watch this video on YouTube.

References