Is the Comet 3I/ATLAS Actually an Alien Spaceship, and Are Aliens Coming to Earth?

Any time NASA notices something unusual traveling across the galaxy, we collectively perk up and give it our full attention. Speculation is rampant that alien life is coming to visit us here on Earth in the form of a spacecraft, which NASA has labeled 3I/ATLAS.

Indeed, 3I/ATLAS "whistleblower" accounts are flooding social media, claiming to know the real truth about this foreign object hurdling towards Earth. So, is it true that aliens are coming to invade our planet?

It seems like pretty important information to know, right? You would probably want to prepare to meet your interstellar colleagues if they are indeed coming to visit Earth.

Let's separate fact from fiction and explore the latest news regarding 3I/ATLAS — what it is, who is in control of this foreign object, and whether or not aliens are coming to visit us on Earth.

No, Comet 3I/ATLAS is not a spaceship being driven by human astronauts or alien explorers.

According to the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) website, "Comet 3I/ATLAS is the third known object from outside our solar system to be discovered passing through our celestial neighborhood. Astronomers have categorized this object as interstellar because of the hyperbolic shape of its orbital path."

If you are curious how the comet got its name, NASA explains that the comet was observed by the Asteroid Terrestrial-impact Last Alert System (aka, ATLAS) in Rio Hurtado, Chile. The number three refers to this comet being the third known interstellar object to be discovered, and the letter "I" refers to this object being interstellar in nature.

So, no, "3I/ATLAS" does not refer to the make or model of a human astronaut's spacecraft or alien spaceship.

Sadly, it does not appear that aliens are coming to visit us here on Earth, just in time for Halloween. That is, despite the inane ramblings of a Harvard scientist who noted several anomalies with Comet 3I/ATLAS that rank on a scale he named after himself.

That doesn't mean, however, that NASA officials have completely ruled out the existence of extraterrestrial life, which may or may not be discovered in the future.

According to the NASA website, "Comet 3I/ATLAS poses no threat to Earth and will remain far away. The closest it will approach our planet is about 1.8 astronomical units (about 170 million miles, or 270 million kilometers). 3I/ATLAS will reach its closest point to the Sun around Oct. 30, 2025, at a distance of about 1.4 au (130 million miles, or 210 million kilometers) — just inside the orbit of Mars."

So, there you have it, in all its anticlimactic glory: no aliens, and no touchdown on Earth.