Renowned physicist reveals real reason 3I/ATLAS lost its tail — and it’s not aliens

Renowned theoretical physicist Dr. Michio Kaku says the mysterious interstellar object 3I/ATLAS likely isn’t an alien spacecraft, just an ancient, well-traveled comet that’s showing its age.

Dexerto has been following 3I/ATLAS closely as theories around the interstellar object continue to evolve. Earlier reports covered claims that the object could have transmitted messages to Earth, that NASA’s delays in releasing images fueled alien speculation, and that a UN-backed planetary defense network had even targeted it amid concerns of advanced extraterrestrial technology.

Scientists like Neil deGrasse Tyson and Avi Loeb have both weighed in on the mystery in recent months — the former suggesting 3I/ATLAS “could be aliens, but probably isn’t,” and the latter urging transparency from NASA as the comet draws closer to Earth.

In an interview with NewsNation on November 8, Kaku discussed the new images of 3I/ATLAS, a Manhattan-sized object that recently appeared to lose its tail after passing the Sun. While some scientists have speculated this could be evidence that the object isn’t a comet at all, Kaku said its unusual appearance can be explained by its extreme age.

Kaku says 3I/ATLAS is a 7-billion-year-old “garbage collector”

“I have my own point of view on this, and that is that this is a very old object, perhaps seven billion years old,” Kaku said. “In seven billion years, there’s been plenty of time to accumulate garbage. That’s why, for example, the nickel content of the comet is off scale.”

He explained that the object’s irregular composition, with high nickel and iron levels, likely results from billions of years traveling through multiple environments and absorbing different gases and materials. “It’s different from comets in our solar system,” Kaku added. “Those may be only three to four billion years old.”

The interview follows earlier comments from Harvard astrophysicist Avi Loeb, who called on NASA to release new data from the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, claiming the agency’s temporary shutdown delayed the release of high-resolution images. Kaku criticized the secrecy, saying withholding the data “fosters more and more speculation” about extraterrestrial origins.