Interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS reappeared from behind the Sun on November 16, 2025, revealing a set of unexpected thermal characteristics that challenge existing scientific models of comet behavior. NASA, however, maintains that the object poses no threat to Earth despite its unusual features.
On the night of November 16, the Virtual Telescope Project in Italy hosted a global livestream beginning at 11:15 p.m. ET, offering the first clear post-perihelion views of the comet. Robotic telescopes in Manciano provided real-time imagery as 3I/ATLAS continued accelerating away from the solar system on a hyperbolic escape path.
A forensic thermal analysis published by USA Herald on November 14 described “highly organized concentric thermal layers” encircling the comet’s core—patterns that are considered profoundly atypical for naturally formed comets. Instead of the chaotic, uneven heat signatures expected from sublimating ice, the data revealed cleanly stacked rings of thermal energy exhibiting near-perfect symmetry.
Other anomalies added to the mystery. Researchers observed a thin “suppression band” where heat signatures abruptly dropped, two persistent hotspots that remained stationary despite the comet’s rotation, and an outer thermal envelope that stayed uniformly rounded rather than stretching into the directional plume normally seen as comets approach the Sun.
Despite the mounting questions, NASA’s official statement released on November 14 reaffirmed that 3I/ATLAS is “unambiguously a comet,” consisting of an icy nucleus surrounded by an active coma of gas and dust. The agency also stressed that the object poses no impact risk to Earth, noting that its December 19, 2025 flyby will occur at a safe distance of roughly 167 million miles.