{"id":14767,"date":"2025-09-20T08:00:00","date_gmt":"2025-09-20T06:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/holistic.news\/en\/?p=14767"},"modified":"2025-12-03T16:36:27","modified_gmt":"2025-12-03T15:36:27","slug":"ufo-or-comet-nasa-mystery-object","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/holistic.news\/en\/ufo-or-comet-nasa-mystery-object\/","title":{"rendered":"UFO or comet? NASA weighs in on a mystery object"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">An unusual find. What the telescopes showed<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>The object stirring up intense emotions is 3I\/ATLAS. It was first spotted in early July 2025 and immediately caused an uproar in the scientific community. <strong>Initially, researchers said outright that it was a comet.<\/strong> Then physicist and astronomer Prof. Avi Loeb, who leads the Galileo Project at Harvard \u2014 an initiative focused on the search for intelligent life beyond Earth \u2014 joined the discussion. Less than a month after 3I\/ATLAS was discovered, Loeb, together with Adam Hibberd and Adam Crowl, posted a paper on <a href=\"https:\/\/arxiv.org\/pdf\/2507.12213\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\">arXiv<\/a> titled <em>Is the Interstellar Object 3I\/ATLAS Alien Technology?<\/em> The professor <strong>suggested we might be looking at a product of extraterrestrial technology<\/strong>. The debate flared: <a href=\"https:\/\/holistic.news\/en\/ufo-and-uap-mysteries-military-and-science-scrutiny\/\">UFO<\/a> or comet?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Read more:<\/strong> <a href=\"https:\/\/holistic.news\/en\/is-it-a-comet-or-alien-spacecraft-this-space-object-worries-a-physicist\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Is It a Comet or an Alien Spacecraft? Harvard Scientist Suggests Extraterrestrial Technology<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">UFO or comet? A clash among scientists<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Loeb argued that 3I\/ATLAS was not behaving like a typical comet. <strong>It lacked the hallmark tail of dust and plasma seen in such objects<\/strong>. In addition, it travels on a rarely observed retrograde orbit, crossing Earth\u2019s orbit at an angle of 5 degrees. Loeb also pointed to its large size \u2014 measurements available at the time indicated about 20 kilometers in diameter, which is substantial for an interstellar comet.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">NASA cools the hype. An expert explains what 3I\/ATLAS is<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>As we reported in early August, the European Space Agency has been highly skeptical of Loeb\u2019s claims. <strong>More recently, a NASA researcher also weighed i<\/strong>n. <em>The Guardian<\/em> contacted Tom Statler, NASA\u2019s lead scientist for small bodies in the Solar System. According to Statler, beyond any reasonable doubt we are dealing with a comet.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>\u201cIt has interesting properties that set it a bit apart from comets in our Solar System, but it behaves like a comet. Therefore, the <strong>evidence clearly indicates that this object is a natural body. It\u2019s a comet<\/strong>,\u201d<\/em> the NASA expert said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>So why the missing tail and the unusual trajectory? Statler notes that comets originating outside our system <strong>can behave unpredictably under the Sun\u2019s heat<\/strong>. It\u2019s also worth stressing that, based on astronomers\u2019 calculations, the object will approach Earth no closer than about 273 million kilometers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">UFO or comet? How close will the object get to Earth?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>What about the body\u2019s unusual size? In his calculations, Loeb relied on preliminary data. NASA\u2019s latest observations, however, <strong>estimate 3I\/ATLAS at just 5.6 kilometers in diameter, not 20 kilometers<\/strong> as the astronomer proposed. It\u2019s worth noting that even if this is not a spacecraft, 3I\/ATLAS remains an <a href=\"https:\/\/holistic.news\/en\/planet-theia-origin-solved-inner-solar-system-neighbor\/\">intriguing object<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The comet is moving at a record-setting speed for something entering our system from the outside: 209,000 km\/h. While it will not pass particularly close to Earth, it is expected to swing by Mars, Jupiter, and Venus at relatively short distances. <strong>In the meantime, Loeb acknowledged on his blog that the comet hypothesis is indeed the most likely<\/strong>. His paper, he said, was meant to present an alternative possibility as an exercise in challenging entrenched assumptions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Read the original article: <\/em><a href=\"https:\/\/holistic.news\/ufo-czy-kometa-nasa-wyjasnia-zagadke\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">UFO w&nbsp;Uk\u0142adzie S\u0142onecznym? NASA rozwi\u0105za\u0142a zagadk\u0119<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>An object that recently appeared in the Solar System has ignited a heated scientific debate. A renowned Harvard physicist says it could be linked to extraterrestrial civilizations. The European Space Agency was skeptical, and NASA has now dismissed claims of an alien craft approaching Earth. UFO or comet\u2014which is it?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":275,"featured_media":14768,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[435],"tags":[1547,1423,1797,834,1652,1291,855],"class_list":["post-14767","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-science","tag-alien-civilization","tag-comet","tag-interstellar-object","tag-science","tag-solar-system","tag-space","tag-ufo"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v27.2 (Yoast SEO v27.2) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>UFO or comet? NASA weighs in on a mystery object<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"UFO or comet? A new visitor sparks a fierce debate as NASA addresses the mystery. See what telescopes found\u2014and how close it gets to Earth.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/holistic.news\/en\/ufo-or-comet-nasa-mystery-object\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_GB\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"UFO or comet? NASA weighs in on a mystery object\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"UFO or comet? A new visitor sparks a fierce debate as NASA addresses the mystery. See what telescopes found\u2014and how close it gets to Earth.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/holistic.news\/en\/ufo-or-comet-nasa-mystery-object\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Holistic News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/portalHolisticNews\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-09-20T06:00:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-12-03T15:36:27+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/holistic.news\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/UFO-or-comet.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1200\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"675\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Maciej Bartusik\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@news_holistic\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@news_holistic\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Maciej Bartusik\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Estimated reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/holistic.news\/en\/ufo-or-comet-nasa-mystery-object\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/holistic.news\/en\/ufo-or-comet-nasa-mystery-object\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Maciej Bartusik\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/holistic.news\/en\/#\/schema\/person\/0758fb0cf338b71ce51e2da415bc266c\"},\"headline\":\"UFO or comet? NASA weighs in on a mystery object\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-09-20T06:00:00+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-12-03T15:36:27+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/holistic.news\/en\/ufo-or-comet-nasa-mystery-object\/\"},\"wordCount\":528,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/holistic.news\/en\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/holistic.news\/en\/ufo-or-comet-nasa-mystery-object\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/holistic.news\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/UFO-or-comet.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"alien civilization\",\"comet\",\"interstellar object\",\"science\",\"Solar System\",\"space\",\"ufo\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Science\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/holistic.news\/en\/ufo-or-comet-nasa-mystery-object\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/holistic.news\/en\/ufo-or-comet-nasa-mystery-object\/\",\"name\":\"UFO or comet? NASA weighs in on a mystery object\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/holistic.news\/en\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/holistic.news\/en\/ufo-or-comet-nasa-mystery-object\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/holistic.news\/en\/ufo-or-comet-nasa-mystery-object\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/holistic.news\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/UFO-or-comet.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-09-20T06:00:00+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-12-03T15:36:27+00:00\",\"description\":\"UFO or comet? A new visitor sparks a fierce debate as NASA addresses the mystery. See what telescopes found\u2014and how close it gets to Earth.\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/holistic.news\/en\/ufo-or-comet-nasa-mystery-object\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/holistic.news\/en\/ufo-or-comet-nasa-mystery-object\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/holistic.news\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/UFO-or-comet.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/holistic.news\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/UFO-or-comet.jpg\",\"width\":1200,\"height\":675,\"caption\":\"Credit: NASA\/ESA\/D. Jewitt; processing: J. DePasquale.\"},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/holistic.news\/en\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/holistic.news\/en\/\",\"name\":\"Holistic News | in English\",\"description\":\"Seeking Truth and Goodness\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/holistic.news\/en\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/holistic.news\/en\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/holistic.news\/en\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Holistic News\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/holistic.news\/en\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/holistic.news\/en\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/holistic.news\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/logo.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/holistic.news\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/logo.png\",\"width\":269,\"height\":57,\"caption\":\"Holistic News\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/holistic.news\/en\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/portalHolisticNews\/\",\"https:\/\/x.com\/news_holistic\",\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/holisticnews\/\"]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/holistic.news\/en\/#\/schema\/person\/0758fb0cf338b71ce51e2da415bc266c\",\"name\":\"Maciej Bartusik\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/f1342251aeb1fef1a488cf90843f154b9bb922b80e596515369351fd356ef5e5?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/f1342251aeb1fef1a488cf90843f154b9bb922b80e596515369351fd356ef5e5?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/f1342251aeb1fef1a488cf90843f154b9bb922b80e596515369351fd356ef5e5?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Maciej Bartusik\"},\"description\":\"A journalist and a graduate of Jagiellonian University. He gained experience in radio and online media. He has dozens of publications on new technologies and space exploration. He is interested in modern energy. A lover of Italian cuisine, especially pasta in every form.\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/holistic.news\/en\/author\/maciej-bartusik\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"UFO or comet? NASA weighs in on a mystery object","description":"UFO or comet? A new visitor sparks a fierce debate as NASA addresses the mystery. See what telescopes found\u2014and how close it gets to Earth.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/holistic.news\/en\/ufo-or-comet-nasa-mystery-object\/","og_locale":"en_GB","og_type":"article","og_title":"UFO or comet? NASA weighs in on a mystery object","og_description":"UFO or comet? A new visitor sparks a fierce debate as NASA addresses the mystery. See what telescopes found\u2014and how close it gets to Earth.","og_url":"https:\/\/holistic.news\/en\/ufo-or-comet-nasa-mystery-object\/","og_site_name":"Holistic News","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/portalHolisticNews\/","article_published_time":"2025-09-20T06:00:00+00:00","article_modified_time":"2025-12-03T15:36:27+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1200,"height":675,"url":"https:\/\/holistic.news\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/UFO-or-comet.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Maciej Bartusik","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@news_holistic","twitter_site":"@news_holistic","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Maciej Bartusik","Estimated reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/holistic.news\/en\/ufo-or-comet-nasa-mystery-object\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/holistic.news\/en\/ufo-or-comet-nasa-mystery-object\/"},"author":{"name":"Maciej Bartusik","@id":"https:\/\/holistic.news\/en\/#\/schema\/person\/0758fb0cf338b71ce51e2da415bc266c"},"headline":"UFO or comet? NASA weighs in on a mystery object","datePublished":"2025-09-20T06:00:00+00:00","dateModified":"2025-12-03T15:36:27+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/holistic.news\/en\/ufo-or-comet-nasa-mystery-object\/"},"wordCount":528,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/holistic.news\/en\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/holistic.news\/en\/ufo-or-comet-nasa-mystery-object\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/holistic.news\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/UFO-or-comet.jpg","keywords":["alien civilization","comet","interstellar object","science","Solar System","space","ufo"],"articleSection":["Science"],"inLanguage":"en-GB"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/holistic.news\/en\/ufo-or-comet-nasa-mystery-object\/","url":"https:\/\/holistic.news\/en\/ufo-or-comet-nasa-mystery-object\/","name":"UFO or comet? NASA weighs in on a mystery object","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/holistic.news\/en\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/holistic.news\/en\/ufo-or-comet-nasa-mystery-object\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/holistic.news\/en\/ufo-or-comet-nasa-mystery-object\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/holistic.news\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/UFO-or-comet.jpg","datePublished":"2025-09-20T06:00:00+00:00","dateModified":"2025-12-03T15:36:27+00:00","description":"UFO or comet? A new visitor sparks a fierce debate as NASA addresses the mystery. See what telescopes found\u2014and how close it gets to Earth.","inLanguage":"en-GB","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/holistic.news\/en\/ufo-or-comet-nasa-mystery-object\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-GB","@id":"https:\/\/holistic.news\/en\/ufo-or-comet-nasa-mystery-object\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/holistic.news\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/UFO-or-comet.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/holistic.news\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/UFO-or-comet.jpg","width":1200,"height":675,"caption":"Credit: NASA\/ESA\/D. Jewitt; processing: J. DePasquale."},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/holistic.news\/en\/#website","url":"https:\/\/holistic.news\/en\/","name":"Holistic News | in English","description":"Seeking Truth and Goodness","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/holistic.news\/en\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/holistic.news\/en\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-GB"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/holistic.news\/en\/#organization","name":"Holistic News","url":"https:\/\/holistic.news\/en\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-GB","@id":"https:\/\/holistic.news\/en\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/holistic.news\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/logo.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/holistic.news\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/logo.png","width":269,"height":57,"caption":"Holistic News"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/holistic.news\/en\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/portalHolisticNews\/","https:\/\/x.com\/news_holistic","https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/holisticnews\/"]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/holistic.news\/en\/#\/schema\/person\/0758fb0cf338b71ce51e2da415bc266c","name":"Maciej Bartusik","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-GB","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/f1342251aeb1fef1a488cf90843f154b9bb922b80e596515369351fd356ef5e5?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/f1342251aeb1fef1a488cf90843f154b9bb922b80e596515369351fd356ef5e5?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/f1342251aeb1fef1a488cf90843f154b9bb922b80e596515369351fd356ef5e5?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Maciej Bartusik"},"description":"A journalist and a graduate of Jagiellonian University. He gained experience in radio and online media. He has dozens of publications on new technologies and space exploration. He is interested in modern energy. A lover of Italian cuisine, especially pasta in every form.","url":"https:\/\/holistic.news\/en\/author\/maciej-bartusik\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/holistic.news\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14767","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/holistic.news\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/holistic.news\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/holistic.news\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/275"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/holistic.news\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=14767"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/holistic.news\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14767\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":15555,"href":"https:\/\/holistic.news\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14767\/revisions\/15555"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/holistic.news\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/14768"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/holistic.news\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=14767"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/holistic.news\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=14767"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/holistic.news\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=14767"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}