The Cryo-Comet Explanation
While some astronomers debate whether 3I/ATLAS is behaving unusually, former NASA astronomer Mr. Marian Rudnyk has a straightforward explanation: it's an ancient cryo-comet doing exactly what these objects are known to do.
Mr. Rudnyk argues that 3I/ATLAS isn't alien technology or some mysterious self-illuminating object. Instead, its unusual brightness and behavior can be explained by dramatic cryo-volcanic eruptions, where frozen materials burst outward like volcanic activity on Earth, but with ice and gas instead of lava.
This process, he says, has been seen in other comets and can easily be mistaken for something more exotic.
What Makes Cryo-Comets So Bright?
The icy particles ejected thru eruptions are HIGHLY REFLECTIVE & will cause such comets to be BRIGHTER than an average comets. For example, Comet 29P/Schwassmann-Wachmann 1 had eruptions that made it appear ~300 TIMES BRIGHTER than normal! ✨The brightening from such activity can easily be MISTAKEN as "self-illumination".
Mr. Rudnyk points to a well-documented example: Comet 29P/Schwassmann-Wachmann 1, which had eruptions that made it appear 300 times brighter than normal. When frozen gases and ice particles get blasted out during these cryo-volcanic events, they're incredibly reflective, creating the kind of dramatic brightening that 3I/ATLAS has been displaying.
This brightening can easily fool observers into thinking the object is somehow "self-illuminating," when it's actually just reflecting sunlight off countless tiny ice particles.
For reference, we have a full article covering the self-illuminating theory here.
The Hidden Volcanic Jets
One reason these cryo-volcanic eruptions can be so puzzling is that they often create their own camouflage. The ejected material forms a large, fuzzy cloud (called a coma) around the comet's nucleus, which can hide the actual jets of material shooting out.
Mr. Rudnyk compares this to Halley's Comet, where scientists couldn't see the volcanic-like jets until the European Space Agency's Giotto spacecraft flew directly into the coma in 1986. Only then did they discover the powerful streams of gas and dust shooting from the comet's surface.
Without being able to see these jets directly, an observer might conclude something unusual is happening, when it's actually just normal (though dramatic) comet behavior hidden behind a veil of its own making.
What's 3I/ATLAS Actually Made Of?
According to Mr. Rudnyk's analysis, 3I/ATLAS appears to be composed of pristine material from the ancient solar system it came from, including:
Key Points
- Water ice that provides the raw material for cryo-volcanic eruptions
- Organic-rich silicate materials that give it a reddish color
- Carbonate minerals similar to what we see in some asteroids and comets from our own solar system's asteroid belt
This composition suggests 3I/ATLAS is essentially a time capsule from another star system, preserving materials that are billions of years old. While that makes it incredibly scientifically valuable, it doesn't necessarily make it mysterious in terms of how it behaves.
Why the Exotic Theories?
Mr. Rudnyk acknowledges that people unfamiliar with cryo-volcanic processes might jump to more exotic conclusions about 3I/ATLAS. When you see an object getting dramatically brighter far from the Sun without visible jets or obvious comet-like activity, it's natural to wonder if something unusual is happening.
But he emphasizes that just because the general public or non-specialists might not be aware of cryo-comets doesn't change what 3I/ATLAS most likely is.
Still, he admits the romantic in him is open to the possibility of it being something more exotic, and notes it could turn out to be some unknown natural variant we haven't seen before. The key point is that we should have definitive answers soon as 3I/ATLAS approaches and reveals more of its secrets.
The Bottom Line
Mr. Rudnyk's professional scientific bet is straightforward: 3I/ATLAS is an ancient cryo-comet whose dramatic outbursts of ice and gas explain its unusual brightness and behavior. While its interstellar origin and extreme age make it fascinating, its basic nature likely follows well-understood comet physics.
The theory provides a natural explanation for the mysterious brightening that has sparked so much debate, suggesting that 3I/ATLAS isn't breaking the rules of physics but simply demonstrating processes we've seen in other comets, just on a more dramatic scale.
As 3I/ATLAS continues its approach, ongoing observations should reveal whether this cryo-comet explanation holds up or if we're dealing with something truly unprecedented.
Editorial Note
All quotes and technical details in this article come from Dr. Marian Rudnyk's detailed analysis posted on X. As with all early observations of 3I/ATLAS, these interpretations may evolve as more data becomes available from telescopes worldwide.
