Image Credentials: Image Title: CIA’s Cryptic Response Reignites Mystery Over Interstellar Object 3I ATLAS Source: (sora.openai) Date: January 2026. Attribution: This image was created using AI-generated imagery (sora.openai) and does not depict a real-world scene.
By Open Chronicle News Desk | January 6, 2026
A mysterious object hurtling through the solar system has once again ignited global speculation, after a rare and highly guarded response from the CIA cast new doubt on NASA’s claim that it is merely a harmless comet.
The object, known as 3I ATLAS, was detected in July 2025 as it entered the inner solar system from interstellar space. NASA publicly classified it as a natural comet, an icy body shedding gas and dust as it warms. Yet a recently disclosed intelligence response suggests the US government may not be as certain as it has claimed.
In November 2025, UFO researcher John Greenewald Jr submitted a Freedom of Information Act request to the CIA asking whether the agency possessed any records concerning 3I ATLAS. The agency replied with what is known as a Glomar response, stating it could neither confirm nor deny the existence of such records.
That form of reply is used only when acknowledging the presence or absence of documents could itself expose classified intelligence activities. Its use immediately raised eyebrows across scientific and national security circles.
☄️UPDATE: Remember 3I / Atlas?
It seemed like a nothingburger…until now.
UFO researcher John Greenewald requested information about 3I / Atlas under the Freedom of Information Act but was denied by the CIA!
"The CIA can neither confirm nor deny the existence or nonexistence… pic.twitter.com/X8pvnl0be9
— The Maverick Approach (@Maveapproach) January 6, 2026
If the object truly were just an ordinary comet, critics argue, there would be no national security reason for the CIA to avoid answering a simple records request.
Harvard astrophysicist Avi Loeb has been among the most vocal skeptics of NASA’s explanation. He has pointed to at least a dozen unusual features that do not easily fit the profile of a natural comet. Among them are a bright anti-tail pointing opposite the direction of solar radiation, trajectory changes that appear inconsistent with gravity alone, and evidence of a nickel-rich shell, a material commonly used in spacecraft for thermal shielding.
Loeb has argued that while the probability of an artificial origin may be small, it is large enough to warrant serious scientific and security investigation.
He also questioned why NASA would dismiss the extraterrestrial hypothesis so forcefully while intelligence agencies quietly treat the matter as potentially sensitive.
As 3I ATLAS approaches Jupiter on March 16, the window for detailed observation is closing. After that point, the object will slingshot back toward deep space, possibly never to be seen again.
NASA has stood by its assessment. Administrator Nicky Fox said in November that the agency had found nothing to suggest the object was anything other than a comet. However, the agency’s credibility has been challenged after it released low-resolution images of 3I ATLAS that were far less detailed than photographs captured by amateur astronomers using commercial telescopes, despite NASA’s spacecraft being much closer.
That discrepancy fueled claims of either technical failure or intentional withholding of clearer imagery.
Greenewald Jr has since filed appeals and parallel requests with NASA and other agencies in an effort to determine whether any classified analysis exists. He has not yet received further responses.
The CIA and NASA have declined public comment on the matter.
While US officials continue to state there is no physical proof of extraterrestrial technology, the CIA’s guarded response has given new life to decades of suspicion that the government may be keeping more information about unidentified objects than it admits.
Whether 3I ATLAS is a bizarre natural object or something far more extraordinary, the episode highlights a growing tension between open science and national security in an era when even objects from beyond the stars can become matters of state secrecy.