3I/ATLASEvidence
Evidence · 3I/ATLAS
Gravity alone far out; a push only near the Sun
The distant inbound arc fits gravity alone, while the full arc through perihelion requires a non-gravitational acceleration; its systematic uncertainties exceed the formal ones.
What it means
Openunchanged
Answer this evidence bears onGas escaping from the nucleus, as on any active comet
Supports3 for, none against
Still possibleunchanged
What it implies
- The push switches on with solar heating, as comet outgassing does.For the key question: What pushes 3I/ATLAS off a purely gravitational path?
- The orbit alone cannot yet tell which gas carries it.For: Which gas carries the push: carbon dioxide, water or carbon monoxide?
Next steps 1
1
Watch the JPL orbit for JWST program 13145
Adds evidenceGood odds~2 h
24score
Details
JPL solution 55 was made to support JWST program 13145 and uses observations to 16 October 2026. Compare the next solutions: an acceleration that stays at zero far out on the outbound leg supports outgassing; one that persists would not.
Ranked by how likely each is to move the key question, for the time it takes
Sources 2
Cite it
Mysteries Department. (2026). Gravity alone far out; a push only near the Sun [Evidence EVD0DFQ4KHHYF1R]. https://mysteriesdept.com/r/EVD0DFQ4KHHYF1R
@misc{mysteriesdept_evd0dfq4khhyf1r,
title = {Gravity alone far out; a push only near the Sun},
author = {{Mysteries Department}},
year = {2026},
note = {Evidence, catalog key EVD0DFQ4KHHYF1R},
url = {https://mysteriesdept.com/r/EVD0DFQ4KHHYF1R}
}