Elon Musk Warns Comet 3I/ATLAS โcould Poseโ Existential โคThreat
During an appearance on the Joeโ Rogan Experiance podcast on October 31, 2025, Elon Musk addressed speculationโ surrounding the interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS, issuing a starkโ warning about its potential impact. The discussion arose after Rogan suggested โthe comet’s high nickel content โขmight indicate an artificial origin.
Musk clarified that a high nickel proportion is not uncommon in comets and asteroids.However, he conceded that if โคthe โฃobject were composed entirelyโ of nickel, โข”there โฃwould even be the possibility that it was a heavy spacecraft.” He further emphasized the potential devastation a comet ofโ that size could inflict, stating it “could annihilate anโ entire continent. Or even worse.”
Musk’s comments referenced the pastโค record of cosmic impacts, notingโฃ that โฃfossil evidence points โto approximately โฃfiveโค extinction-level events caused by such โcollisions. he cautioned, though, that thes records likely only represent impacts large enough to โcause mass extinctions, and may not account โfor events that “destroyed entire continents.”
NASA estimates 3I/ATLASโ reached its closest approach to the Sun around October 31, 2025, at โa distance ofโฃ approximately 210 million kilometers.While NASAโข has not released an exact size estimate, the comet’sโข diameter is believed to โrange between 440 meters andโ 5.6 kilometers.
Scientists have tracked the comet’s trajectoryโ as itsโ discovery, determining it originated from the directionโข of the constellation Sagittarius, located in the central region of the Milky Way galaxy. โฃ
According to The Sky Live, an astronomy website, 3I/ATLAS will make its closest approach to Earth on Friday,โข December 19, 2025, at a distance of 268,898,938 kilometers (1.797478 Astronomical Units).As of November โ10, the comet was 324,325,508 kilometers (2.1679821149 Astronomical Units) from earth.