NASA Just Updated 3I/ATLAS’s Size — It’s Large, Not 28 Miles!

The Mysterious Arrival of Threeey Atlas: A Cosmic Puzzle

In 2025, an interstellar object named Threeey Atlas has entered our solar system, creating an unprecedented scientific mystery. Racing toward the Sun at a mind-boggling speed of 152,000 mph, Threeey Atlas is the third-ever interstellar object detected by Earth. Its behavior, size, and unusual characteristics have left scientists puzzled, especially as it heads toward its closest approach to the Sun—known as perihelion—on October 29, 2025. With just 66 days remaining before this pivotal event, the scientific community is racing against time to uncover the truth behind this remarkable interstellar visitor.

The Countdown to Perihelion

Threeey Atlas’s journey brings it on a direct course toward the Sun, but a rare cosmic alignment will occur when it reaches perihelion. Earth, the Sun, and Threeey Atlas will align in such a way that the Sun will block our view of the object completely. This phenomenon creates a temporary “blind spot” where even the most advanced telescopes will be unable to observe the object at its closest point to the Sun, meaning that scientists may miss their only opportunity to study it at a crucial moment.

This alignment represents a significant challenge for researchers trying to observe Threeey Atlas up close. For a brief period, the object will vanish from sight, intensifying the pressure on scientists to gather as much data as possible before it disappears from view.

A Massive Interstellar Object

Initial reports suggested that Threeey Atlas could be as large as 28 miles in diameter, which would make it one of the largest objects ever detected in deep space. However, more refined imaging techniques have since narrowed its size to between 9 to 12 miles. While smaller than initially thought, this is still an immense size for an interstellar object. It’s over 100 times larger than ‘Oumuamua, the mysterious cigar-shaped object that passed through our solar system in 2017, and at least 10 times larger than 2I/Boris, an icy interstellar comet from 2019.

To put it into perspective, Nine to Twelve Miles is equivalent to over 30 Empire State Buildings lined up end to end. While its size is still staggering, it presents a conundrum: interstellar space is sparse, with very few solid objects. How did such a massive object form? And where did it come from?

An Anomalous Surface with No Tail

Despite its size and remarkable brightness, Threeey Atlas is not behaving like a typical comet. Comets, as they approach the Sun, release gas and dust—forming a tail and gas jets that make them one of the most recognized phenomena in space. However, Threeey Atlas is behaving in an unexpected way: it has no visible tail and is not releasing water vapor like typical comets. Instead, it emits a slow stream of carbon dioxide, about 150 pounds per second, yet it doesn’t display any of the characteristic activity that would be expected from a comet of its size.

This unusual behavior has led scientists to hypothesize that the object may have a thick outer shell—a protective layer against the intense solar radiation. More speculatively, some researchers, including Harvard astrophysicist Avi Loeb, have suggested that Threeey Atlas might not be a natural object at all but could instead be a technological artifact, possibly built to endure the extreme conditions of deep space. Loeb has raised the controversial idea that this object could be an artificial structure designed to survive in the harsh environment of interstellar space, visible yet durable enough to withstand cosmic radiation and solar flares.

While no one is formally claiming that Threeey Atlas is alien-made, some scientists are starting to question assumptions they never thought they’d have to challenge. The object’s size, trajectory, and lack of typical comet behavior raise serious doubts about its natural origins.

The Race Against Time

With its perihelion approaching, NASA’s most powerful telescopes, including the Hubble Space Telescope and the James Webb Space Telescope, have been focused on Threeey Atlas, hoping to uncover more of its mysteries. However, as the object nears perihelion, the intense glare from the Sun will make it impossible for even these state-of-the-art instruments to observe it clearly. The opportunity to study this unprecedented object is rapidly slipping away.

But there is one glimmer of hope. NASA’s Juno spacecraft, which has been orbiting Jupiter since 2016, might just be able to make an attempt to observe Threeey Atlas directly. Though Juno was not designed for deep space flybys, its trajectory could potentially allow it to get a closer view of Threeey Atlas as it passes by, offering a once-in-a-lifetime chance to gather valuable data from an interstellar object. If successful, it could be the first time in human history that we’ve observed such an object at close range.

Unexpected Findings from Infrared Observations

In addition to traditional observation methods, NASA’s SpherX infrared telescope pointed its instruments at Threeey Atlas, expecting to detect the usual cometary signs of water vapor, carbon monoxide, and dust. However, what it found was far stranger. Rather than the typical comet activity, SpherX detected only carbon dioxide, with no water vapor or dust jets.

Spectral analysis suggests that Threeey Atlas may be composed of a mixture of frozen CO2, water ice, and organic material, but the lack of typical comet behavior is perplexing. This raises further questions: Could Threeey Atlas be a solid, stable object with a design that defies known cosmic patterns? And if it is a man-made artifact, what purpose does it serve, and who or what might have built it?

A Technological Possibility

Avi Loeb’s hypothesis that Threeey Atlas could be a piece of technology is bold and controversial, but it is gaining traction. The object’s size, stable trajectory, and unusual reflective properties don’t fit the profile of a natural object. If it is artificial, it could be a probe sent across the stars by an ancient civilization or even a futuristic spacecraft built to survive the harshest conditions of space.

While the idea remains speculative, it is not unprecedented. Loeb himself previously raised similar questions about ‘Oumuamua, which displayed odd behaviors that couldn’t be explained by conventional astrophysics. If Threeey Atlas is indeed a piece of technology, it could be a relic of a distant civilization—or perhaps a probe sent from beyond our solar system.

The Last Window of Opportunity

As Threeey Atlas races toward the outer limits of the solar system, the scientific window to study it is closing fast. By early 2026, the object will be too far to observe with most telescopes. Its once-bright glow will fade, and its features will blur beyond recognition.

This could be humanity’s last chance to study an interstellar object in such detail for decades, possibly longer. If Threeey Atlas holds the key to understanding interstellar space, the origins of our solar system, or even extraterrestrial intelligence, these answers may slip away forever unless immediate action is taken.

Every observation made now is critical. Will we uncover the truth about Threeey Atlas, or will it remain a cosmic enigma, fading into the dark of space with its mysteries unresolved? Time is running out, and the answers may lie within the data we are racing to collect before it’s too late.

In the coming weeks, as Threeey Atlas continues its high-speed journey through the solar system, the world’s most powerful telescopes will continue to monitor this incredible object. What will they find before it’s too late?