--- title: "Mysterious Object Headed Into Our Star System Is Now Changing Color" description: "As interstellar object 3I/ATLAS approaches its closest point to the Sun next month, the mysterious visitor continues to fascinate." date: "2025-09-10" modified: "2025-09-10" authors: - name: "Victor Tangermann" job_title: "Senior Editor" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/victor" url: "https://futurism.com/mysterious-object-star-system-changing-color" categories: - "Astronomy" - "Off-World" - "Space" tags: - "3i/atlas" - "interstellar objects" --- # Mysterious Object Headed Into Our Star System Is Now Changing Color ![As interstellar object 3I/ATLAS approaches its closest point to the Sun next month, the mysterious visitor continues to fascinate.]() *\Image: Getty / Futurism\* As interstellar object 3I/ATLAS approaches its closest point to the Sun next month, the mysterious visitor continues to [fascinate astronomers](). The object, which is broadly believed to be a comet that came to us from outside the solar system, has already been [observed changing shape](). Its tail has grown longer, and its coma — a large atmosphere of gas and dust that surrounds its nucleus — has become more pronounced. Those are expected characteristics from a comet ripping by the Sun at ludicrous speeds, though numerous readings by sensitive space telescopes have also found it to have [unusual properties]() that will be studied for years to come. In the latest twist, this week, comet hunter Michael Jäger and his colleagues "took advantage of the total lunar eclipse to take a deep image of Comet 3I/ATLAS under the dark skies of Namibia," according to a [recent forum exchange](). Their observations showed that the object's coma has now transitioned from giving off red light to green, yet another fascinating wrinkle in the rare interstellar visitor's odyssey through our solar system. As Harvard astronomer and noted alien hunter Avi Loeb [pointed out in a recent blog post]() on the findings, this could be due to a "steep rise in the production of cyanide." Scientists [hypothesize]() that the production of the chemical, alongside nickel, are increasing dramatically as 3I/ATLAS approaches the Sun. Data [by the ATLAS telescope team](), which first spotted the object and after which the space rock is named, suggests that the object's "anomalous evolution" is shifting from "scattering of sunlight by dust lifted from a reddened surface to the production of small, optically bright icy grains, which changed the opacity of the plume of materials shed off by 3I/ATLAS," per Loeb. While Loeb has [repeatedly raised the possibility]() that 3I/ATLAS might be an "extraterrestrial artifact" that was sent to us by an intelligent alien race, observations are building a stronger and stronger case that it's merely a comet — albeit one from far beyond our solar system. To Loeb, though, it's still an outlier. For one, observations have shown that the object is "dominated by carbon dioxide," as Loeb explains, making up a whopping 87 percent of its mass. The astronomer has also found that its orbital path, which takes it [relatively close to Mars, Jupiter, and Venus](), is extremely unusual, making "3I/ATLAS interestingly anomalous relative to familiar icy rocks." **More on 3I/ATLAS:** *[Scientist Watching to See If Mysterious Object Visiting Our Solar System Releases Any Probes]()* ## Author I've been at Futurism since 2017, where my role has evolved to encompass design, writing, and increasingly editing. I've always been fascinated by space exploration and advanced transportation, which I've leaned into by interviewing luminaries in those fields while closely following the dimensions of policy and regulation that allow next-generation projects to succeed -- or, sometimes, to fail. I'm also keenly interested in the effects of generative AI on society, policies, and democratic institutions, as well as clean energy, physics and biology, and the vagaries of tech leadership. My work for Futurism has been cited by publications including Ars Technica, Gizmodo, PC Magazine, Jalopnik, Fox News, and the New York Post. I spent my childhood living in locations including Manila, the Philippines, and Geneva, Switzerland, attended McGill University, and now live in Toronto, Canada. Before Futurism I worked at AskMen and a small photography studio. In my free time, I'm an avid gardener, foodie, and craft beer lover, as well as a maker of artisanal hot pepper sauces. I have a magnificent dog named Freida. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()