The announcement ended speculation fueled by a government data blackout.
A fleet of NASA spacecraft captured unprecedented data on the visitor.
Scientists believe the comet is ancient, potentially predating our solar system.
Despite the official conclusion, some experts continue to question its origin.
After weeks of government-imposed silence, NASA has finally released information about one the most captivating cosmic visitors in recent history. The space agency has released a cache of new images of the interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS, emphatically stating the object is a natural comet and not an alien spacecraft. The highly anticipated data, captured by a fleet of NASA spacecraft including the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, had been delayed by the recent U.S. government shutdown, a period that fueled rampant speculation about what the agency might be hiding.
The government shutdown, which lasted from Oct. 1 to Nov. 12, coincided with a critical period for observations as the comet flew behind the sun. This forced delay in sharing data created an information vacuum that was quickly filled by conspiracy theories. During a news conference, NASA Associate Administrator Amit Kshatriya directly confronted these rumors, leaving no room for ambiguity about the object’s nature.
"This object is a comet," Kshatriya said. "It looks and behaves like a comet… and all evidence points to it being a comet. But this one came from outside the solar system, which makes it fascinating, exciting and scientifically very important." This definitive statement serves as a direct rebuttal to theories suggesting the visitor could be artificial technology from another star system.....<<<Read More>>>...
