Comet 3I/ATLAS breaks the known laws of gravity and cosmic chemistry

On July 1, 2025, the detection system ATLASIn Chile, an object was captured whose trajectory did not belong to the Solar System. It was soon named... 3I/ATLAS, convirtiéndose en el Third interstellar visitor confirmed after 'Oumuamua (2017) and 2I / Borisov (2019). But, unlike its predecessors, this comet seems to break the very rules of celestial physics.

During his time at perihelion On October 29, astronomers detected a non-gravitational accelerationThat is, a movement that It cannot be explained solely by solar attraction.“The object experiences two components of acceleration: one radial, which pushes it outward, and another transverse, which displaces it laterally. Neither can be fully explained by standard cometary physics,” explained the Harvard astrophysicist. Avi Loeb, known for his work on interstellar objects.

The data obtained by the Atacama Large Millimeter Array (ALMA) They showed that 3I/ATLAS deviated four arc seconds compared to its predicted trajectory, a huge margin on astronomical scales. Furthermore, the comet surprised everyone with a drastic chromatic change, going from one tone reddish to a deep blueThis behavior is the opposite of what is expected, since comets tend to redden as they approach the Sun.

“Something in its composition or in the way it interacts with solar radiation is producing effects we’ve never seen before,” he commented. Clara Rojas, researcher at the Institute of Astrophysics of Andalusia.

Impossible chemistry: the mystery of pure nickel

The anomalies are not limited to their movement. The telescopes James Webb y Very Large Telescope (VLT) They detected a pure nickel emission without any trace of iron, forming a compound known as nickel tetracarbonyl (Ni(CO)₄)Until now, this substance had only been produced on Earth through processes industrial applications at high pressure and low temperaturenever naturally.

“The fact that this compound appears spontaneously in a comet raises profound questions about its origin,” Loeb explained. “If this material formed in another star system, its chemical conditions must have been completely different from those in our solar neighborhood.”

The 3I/ATLAS would be emitting four grams of nickel per second, an unusually high figure for a body of its size. Astronomers are considering three hypotheses:

1. An exotic thermal reaction caused by solar radiation.

2. An interaction with cosmic rays high-energy waves from interstellar space.

3. Or, in the most radical interpretation, an unnatural originThis would reopen debates about extraterrestrial technology, a topic that Loeb does not completely rule out.

If it is confirmed that tetracarbonyl forms under natural conditions, current space chemistry models should rewrite from scratchBut if not, it could be a technology firm, a possibility that, although speculative, has captured the attention of the public and the media.

A definitive test in December

The opportunity to solve the mystery will come on December 19th 2025, when 3I/ATLAS reaches its closest approach to Earth, to some 270 million kmAccording to calculations by the international team tracking its trajectory, if the acceleration is due to natural processes, the comet should lose about 10% of their mass by releasing a large column of gas detectable by telescopes around the world.

La NASA, ESA and the European Southern Observatory have announced a coordinated observation campaign which will extend until January 2026. Ground-based and space-based instruments, such as the James Webb’s most emblematic landmarks, the Hubble and the ALMAThey will simultaneously observe the comet's behavior. If the expected gas emission is not detected, traditional physical explanations—such as ice sublimation or radiation pressure—could be ruled out.

“This is a real test for our models,” he commented. John Leone, astrophysicist at the University of Padua. “If current laws don’t explain what we see, we’ll have to broaden our theoretical framework, perhaps even our definition of what a comet is.”

A visitor from another world

3I/ATLAS has a mass a million times greater than 'Oumuamuaand a trajectory that will take him dangerously close to Venus, Mars, and Jupiter before leaving the Solar System. Their study could offer unique clues about the formation of other planetary systems and about the chemical processes that gave rise to organic matter in the universe.

Avi Loeb and his project team Galileo They consider this encounter a unique opportunity: “If its composition and acceleration remain unexplained after December, we will have to seriously consider that this object comes from a radically different physical environment than ours,” the scientist declared.

Meanwhile, astronomers are preparing for what could be one of the most important observations of the centuryIf 3I/ATLAS confirms its interstellar nature with phenomena that current physics cannot explain, It could force us to rethink the very limits of modern science.

In Rojas' words: "Every time we think we know the rules of the cosmos, something appears that reminds us that the universe still holds secrets much bigger than our imagination."