‘New data raises familiar explanations — but the real story may be what NASA did not say.’
[USA HERALD] NASA’s November 19 press conference promised long-awaited clarity on 3I/ATLAS — but, as Harvard astrophysicist Avi Loeb predicted just an hour before the event, no big news emerged. NASA repeated its official position: 3I/ATLAS is a natural comet, its data delays were caused by the government shutdown, and the newly released images — including the long-awaited HiRISE frame from Mars — show nothing more than a fuzzy ballof light.
But Loeb’s point is sharper, and it landed with surgical precision: NASA emphasized what they believe, not what remains unexplained.
And there is plenty that remains unexplained.
Avi Loeb: NASA ignored the twelve major puzzles surrounding 3I/ATLAS
Speaking after the briefing, Loeb expressed disappointment that NASA chose not to address the 12 anomalies he has repeatedly outlined — including:
- 3I/ATLAS is a million times more massive than ‘Oumuamua
- Its alignment with the plane of the planets is statistically extraordinary
- Its tightly collimated jets — seen clearly by amateurs — contradict expectations for a natural icy comet
NASA did not discuss the improbable trajectory, the rare mass, or the ongoing mystery surrounding the object’s anti-tail, its forward-facing jets, or the possibility of non-gravitational acceleration.
Loeb noted that amateur astronomers — not NASA — have provided the most scientifically meaningful images so far. The jets captured in recent nights stretch nearly a million kilometers, pointing both toward and away from the Sun with a precision that is “far more exciting than the smudged HiRISE image.”
NASA’s silence on these anomalies is especially striking given that Loeb openly suggested the jets could represent technological thrusters rather than sublimating natural ices.
