Hubble Captures 3I/ATLAS Erupting With Jet Physics Never Seen Before

Instead, the jets in this image appear tightly collimated, coherent, and radially balanced. They do not fan outward chaotically, nor do they dissolve quickly into the surrounding coma. Their geometry suggests either a rapidly rotating nucleus with remarkably uniform internal structure, or subsurface processes capable of maintaining pressure and directionality at extreme velocities. Either explanation pushes beyond what is normally observed in small bodies originating from the Oort Cloud or Kuiper Belt.

Equally notable is the dominance of ionized material over dust. The intense blue coloration near the core is consistent with high-energy gas emissions rather than particulate scatter. Dust-rich jets typically appear warmer in color and lose coherence rapidly as solar radiation pressure acts upon them. Here, the jets retain their form, implying material strength, cohesion, or composition unlike the primitive, fragile mixtures that characterize most known comets.

I examined the radial symmetry carefully. True symmetry in cometary jets is rare. Even bilaterally symmetric outflows usually degrade over time as rotation, solar heating, and structural weakness introduce irregularities. In this image, however, the jets maintain consistent spacing and alignment relative to the nucleus. That points to internal conditions that are stable, pressurized, and mechanically resilient.