Manhattan-sized interstellar object is covered in a layer of CO2, shocking scientists, NASA images reveal https://t.co/9avBqSDibP pic.twitter.com/gssfk6DoIX
— New York Post (@nypost) August 27, 2025
The Manhattan-sized interstellar object rocketing through Earth’s inner solar system is covered by a cloud of carbon dioxide, a characteristic that shocked experts, according to an analysis of brand new images.
Both the James Webb Space Telescope and NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory observatory SPHEREx snapped new images of 3I/ATLAS this week, almost two months after it was first spotted in the skies above Chile.
“In other words, a relatively thin outer layer is sufficient to maintain the observed cloud of CO2 gas around 3I/ATLAS. What lies under this outer skin remains unknown,” Loeb wrote.