‘Set of jets’ surrounding 3I/ATLAS could be used ‘for navigation of a spacecraft’ — as second interstellar object is spotted in the sky

3I/ATLAS is surrounded by “a complex jet structure,” new images show, sparking fresh speculation that the Manhattan-sized interstellar object could be an artificial alien craft.

The images, captured on Nov. 8, show at least seven distinct jets, “some of which are anti-tails in the sunward direction,” Dr. Avi Loeb wrote in a piece published on Medium on Saturday.

The Harvard astrophysicist speculated that the jets could be “coming from a set of thrusters used for navigation of a spacecraft.”

However, he also conceded that the jets could be “associated with pockets of ice on the surface of a natural cometary nucleus.”

“It would be easy to test whether 3I/ATLAS is natural or technological by measuring the outflow velocity, mass flux and composition of its jets during the coming month,” Loeb wrote in a follow-up piece, saying that the object gets closest to Earth on Dec. 19.

“Let us hope 3I/ATLAS will not deliver any unwanted gifts to Earth during the holiday season,” he ominously added.

Meanwhile, the discovery of another “nearly interstellar” object, officially designated C/2025 V1, has fueled frenzied speculation that it may be linked to 3I/ATLAS.

However, Loeb appears skeptical of such claims, believing the large distance between the two objects makes it unlikely that there’s a connection.

“C/2025 V1 is not related to 3I/ATLAS if it did not employ non-gravitational propulsion,” he explained. “The closest separation of the two orbits is 75 million kilometers (0.5 au) and the objects were never closer than 225 million kilometers (1.5 au) from each other without propulsion. The measured non-gravitational acceleration of 3I/ATLAS is insufficient to bridge the gap with C/2025 V1.”

Since the discovery of 3I/ATLAS in July, Loeb has asserted that the object has been exhibiting a host of anomalous behaviors that could suggest that it’s an extraterrestrial probe.

In a recent paper, the scientist wrote that the object’s non-gravitational acceleration — which was recorded by NASA last week — combined with the fact that it glowed “bluer than the sun” could indicate the “technological signature of an internal engine.”