NASA really wants you to know that 3I/ATLAS is an interstellar comet | A rundown of what we know of the third extrasolar object we’ve identified.

The article incorrectly says the path follows a parabola and then goes on to describe the path. It’s a hyperbola, not a parabola. Would it really have taken that much effort to double-check? I get that the words sound similar but it’s literally an interstellar object – ANY interstellar object has to be hyperbolic.

Ancient Mesopotamia: Viewed as specific omens of disaster, such as floods, famine, or the death of a king.

Ancient China: Called “broom stars,” they were seen as signs of cosmic imbalance, predicting rebellions, assassinations, or the fall of a dynasty.

Ancient Greece: Considered by Aristotle to be atmospheric disturbances like wind or lightning, rather than objects in space.

Ancient Rome: Interpreted as powerful political signs, such as the soul of Julius Caesar ascending, though usually regarded as bad omens for the state.

Medieval Europe: Feared as direct messages of God’s wrath signaling war, plague, or the death of a ruler, most notably associated with the Battle of Hastings in 1066.

The Renaissance: A transition period where they were sometimes depicted as holy symbols in art while astronomers began trying to measure their distance.

Late 16th Century: Proven by astronomer Tycho Brahe to be celestial bodies traveling far beyond the Moon, shattering the belief that they were weather phenomena.

The Enlightenment, 18th Century: Understood as natural, predictable objects orbiting the Sun after Edmond Halley successfully predicted a comet’s return using physics.

Now: Comets are actually massive alien motherships and the tails are just exhaust plumes from their engines firing.

The worlds in such a terrible state, I wish aliens would come and either save us or wipe us out.