‘Timeline’ and ‘Clarity?’ Space Ship or Comet: 3I Atlas Reaches Jupiter March 18, 2026 By Aubry Turner While UFOs and aliens fascinate the public and make exciting and terrifying headlines, governments all over the world have been strangely silent about earth’s latest interstellar visitor, including the CIA which refuses to comment. Story continues below advertisement Related Content Since July 1st, 2025, scientists have studied an interstellar object resembling a comet. First report spotted the object, named 3I/Atlas, in July 2025 zooming through our solar system before reaching perihelion (closest approach to the sun) behind the sun on October 29, 2025. The objects hyperbolic trajectory (it’s traveling fast enough to escape the sun’s gravity) made its closest approach to earth about 170 million miles away on December 19, 2025. “3I/ATLAS… [is] much bigger than previously thought,” noted Harvard theorist Avi Loeb, estimating it weighs over 33 billion tons, making it a titan among comets. The 3 represents the third confirmed interstellar traveler, the I is for interstellar and Atlas is an acronym for Asteroid Terrestrial‑impact Last Alert System – the telescopic array that first spotted 3I/Atlas. “It’s a staggering number of objects floating around, the presence of which we’ve only just started to infer,” says David Jewitt, suggesting the comet is likely 8-10 billion years old. Loeb claimed he doesn’t think this comet is natural. Scientists discovered at least eighteen anomalies in 3I/Atlas, the third known interstellar object spotted in our celestial neighborhood after 2I/Borisov and 1I/Oumuamua. This “comet” had a 16-hour rotational period before perihelion. After perihelion, according to Loeb, 3I/Atlas rotates every 7.1 hours and shows an anti-tail that points towards the sun and three vents 120 degrees apart. This should never happen.