Misidentified Video of Comet 3I/ATLAS Reveals Microscopic Life

A video claiming to show new footage of the interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS has been debunked as merely depicting a microscopic organism. The footage, which circulated online, is actually a clip of a paramecium, a single-celled freshwater organism. This misinformation originated from a post on X, previously known as Twitter, by user @BGatesIsaPyscho on October 27, 2025.

The post, which falsely captioned the video as “New 3I/Atlas Footage just dropped!!,” quickly attracted attention. An investigation revealed that the video did not come from any recognized astronomical agency. A reverse image search conducted on October 29, 2025, yielded no results that linked the video to credible scientific sources. Instead, it became evident that the search engine’s AI had adopted the misleading captions associated with the clip.

To clarify the identity of the organism featured in the video, Lead Stories reached out to Jack A. Gilbert, a professor at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography at the University of California, San Diego. Gilbert, who is also the Associate Vice Chancellor for Marine Science, confirmed the organism’s identity in an email dated October 29, 2025. He stated, “That is a paramecium – freshwater I believe – although better phase contrast, and where it was found, would be ideal for better identification.”

As misinformation about celestial phenomena proliferates, it is crucial to verify sources. The NASA website dedicated to Comet 3I/ATLAS currently displays a notice indicating that updates are on hold due to a lapse in federal funding, resulting in no new updates or images since July 2025. Prior images posted by NASA do not resemble the viral video, reinforcing its misidentification.

Further context comes from an image released by the National Optical-Infrared Astronomy Research Laboratory (NOIRLab) on September 4, 2025. This image, captured by the Gemini Multi-Object Spectrograph at Cerro Pachón in Chile, depicts Comet 3I/ATLAS moving across a star field. The colorful streaks visible in the image result from the comet’s fixed position in the telescope’s field of view, while background stars shift due to the Earth’s rotation.

The incident serves as a reminder of the importance of critical thinking when encountering extraordinary claims online. As the digital landscape continues to evolve, verifying the authenticity of information, especially regarding scientific phenomena, has never been more vital. Further investigations into similar claims regarding Comet 3I/ATLAS are available through Lead Stories for those interested in the ongoing discourse surrounding this interstellar visitor.