Hubble Detects Anti-Correlated Jet Flips On 3I/ATLAS Pointing To A Controlled Rotational System

What stands out is how neatly this second model explains the data without invoking chaos. It accounts for the length difference between the jets, their alternating brightness, and the apparent wobble seen across frames. Most importantly, it predicts the anti-correlation that Hubble now appears to show: when the anti-tail brightens, the opposing jet weakens, and vice versa. That is exactly what a rotating, misaligned double-jet system should do.

Yet a geometric problem remains unresolved. During perihelion, the Sun deflected 3I/ATLAS’s trajectory by only about 16 degrees. If the object’s rotation axis remained roughly stable, the sun-facing pole identified in July should now be largely on the nightside. And yet, a strong sunward jet persists. Any natural explanation must reconcile that persistence with the object’s limited change in solar orientation.

This is where the story resists easy closure. The behavior does not match a simple picture of a small, exhausted interstellar snowball fading into inactivity. The structure is organized. The variability is patterned. The rotation appears to be in control. Nothing here proves anything exotic—but it does narrow the field of plausible explanations.