The 3I/ATLAS comet, which some space boffins believe may be an alien craft, was spotted emitting life-giving organic matter into the cosmos by NASA telescope SPHEREX
The comet dubbed 3I/ATLAS has been spotted emitting the “building blocks of life” by a NASA telescope. Organic molecules including methanol, cyanide and methane were seen emanating from the space rock on its closest approach to Earth last December.
NASA SPHEREX telescope snapped the life-giving matter in the wake of the comet, which has been called an “alien spaceship” by a Harvard Professor. This latest discovery will give theoretical physicist Avi Loeb more evidence for his argument that the comet is a satellite from an alien planet.
However, NASA have clarified that, while the matter being emitted are fundamental to biological processes on Earth, they can also be the product of non-biological processes in space – meaning the matter does not equate to alien life. There was also a notable increase in brightness coming from 3I/ATLAS in the two months after it zoomed by the Sun.
This is a phenomenon that occurs when a frozen comet travelling from deep space heats up on its approach to the sun. The ice on the space rock turns into solid gas and forms an atmosphere around the comet’s nucleus.
NASA boffin Carey Lisse said: “Comet 3I/ATLAS was full-on erupting into space in December 2025, after its close flyby of the Sun, causing it to significantly brighten. Even water ice was quickly sublimating into gas in interplanetary space.
“And since comets consist of about one-third bulk water ice, it was releasing an abundance of new, carbon-rich material that had remained locked in ice deep below the surface. We are now seeing the usual range of early solar system materials, including organic molecules, soot, and rock dust, that are typically emitted by a comet,” Lisse added.
Previously, a scientific paper co-authored by Prof Loeb cautioned that the object might be a hostile spacecraft, for which humanity should brace itself. It stated: “The consequences, should the hypothesis turn out to be correct, could potentially be dire for humanity, and would possibly require defensive measures to be undertaken (though these might prove futile).”
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