New Image of 3I/ATLAS Reveals Unusual Jet Structures

A recent image of interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS, captured on November 29, 2025, by observer Teerasak Thaluang in Rayong, Thailand, reveals structured jets and a sunward anti-tail, challenging conventional cometary physics.

The image, processed using a rotational-gradient filter, highlights two narrow, collimated jets emerging in opposite directions from the comet's nucleus. Such stable and linear jet structures are atypical for comets, which usually exhibit diffuse and asymmetric outgassing patterns.

Additionally, the photograph shows a sunward-pointing anti-tail, a feature that contradicts the expected behavior of cometary tails, which typically extend away from the Sun due to solar radiation pressure. The presence of this anti-tail suggests that material is being ejected toward the Sun, a phenomenon not easily explained by current cometary models.

These observations add to the growing body of evidence indicating that 3I/ATLAS exhibits behaviors not commonly associated with natural comets, prompting further investigation into its origins and characteristics.