(Image credits: IANS)The third interstellar visitor 3I/ATLAS, currently wandering in our solar system, is changing shapes and emitting different colours that have baffled astronomers across the world. While some astronomers say it could be a natural comet, others indicate that it could be an alien ship. 3I/ATLAS was discovered on July 1 this year by Asteroid Terrestrial-impact Last Alert System (ATLAS), which is an early warning global network developed by the US with telescopes located in multiple countries, including US, Chile and South Africa. Harvard astronomer Avi Loeb has claimed that 3I/ATLAS could be an alien spacecraft, citing its unusual trajectory, acceleration and lack of a typical cometary tail as potential evidence of its artificial origin. However, other astronomers, including those at Nasa, maintain that its features can be explained naturally, suggesting it is likely a comet exhibiting unusual but natural characteristics like outgassing. Even renowned astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson has dismissed the Harvard astronomer's theory. In the latest development, a new image of Manhattan-sized interstellar object appears to show no tail. Photographs taken by the R.Naves Observatory in Spain on Nov 5 showed no sign of a tail of debris which was expected to be shooting off behind the object as it encountered the force of the Sun. Loeb said if the 3I/ATLAS were a natural comet, its trajectory and rapid brightening would require it to shed 13% of its mass to explain its movement, resulting in a visible tail. Social media is rife with speculative theories, but irrespective of the debate about its origins, 3I/ATLAS's composition, possibly containing ancient materials from a different part of the galaxy, and its unusual activity are scientifically unique and may reveal secrets about the formation of other solar systems.