3I/ATLAS is extraordinary for several reasons:

• Interstellar Origin: It comes from outside our Solar System, carrying material from another star system.
• Highest Eccentricity: Its orbital eccentricity of 6.14 is the highest of any known interstellar object.
• Water Detection: NASA's Swift telescope detected water vapor, making it the first interstellar object with confirmed water.
• Ancient Age: Estimated to be 7.6-14 billion years old, potentially older than our Solar System.
• Active Comet: Unlike the first interstellar visitor ('Oumuamua), 3I/ATLAS displays typical cometary activity with a visible coma and tail.

3I/ATLAS exhibits several anomalous behaviors that make it a unique target for scientific study:

• Non-Gravitational Acceleration: The comet experiences unexpected acceleration near perihelion that cannot be explained by gravity alone. This 'outgassing rocket effect' from volatile sublimation is significantly stronger than predicted, suggesting unusual composition or internal structure. [Research by Avi Loeb]
• Extreme Brightness Change: 3I/ATLAS rapidly brightened near perihelion and became bluer than the Sun in color - an unusual spectral shift that indicates extremely high surface temperatures and intense volatile activity not typically seen in comets. [Avi Loeb, Medium]
• Sunward Jet: High-resolution imaging from the Two-Meter Twin Telescope revealed a prominent sunward-facing jet - a directional outgassing stream pointing directly at the Sun, which contributes to the non-gravitational forces and suggests asymmetric heating or surface features. [Two-Meter Twin Telescope Study]
• Exceptional Water Production: NASA's Swift UV telescope detected water vapor production rates described as 'like a fire hose on full blast' - far exceeding models for a comet of its estimated size (0.44-5.6 km diameter), suggesting either a larger nucleus or unusually volatile-rich composition. [NASA Swift Observations]
• Anti-Tail Reversal: The comet displayed an anti-tail (dust trail pointing toward the Sun) that subsequently transformed into a normal tail - a rare phenomenon indicating complex dust dynamics and particle size distribution in the coma. [Avi Loeb Analysis]
• Exotic Chemistry: Spectroscopic observations from Keck Telescope revealed significant amounts of nickel and cyanide in the coma - chemical signatures that provide clues about the conditions in its birth star system and the comet's formation environment. [Keck Spectroscopy]

Scientific Significance: These anomalies make 3I/ATLAS an exceptional laboratory for studying interstellar material and comparing planetary system formation across different stars. The non-gravitational acceleration, in particular, is being closely analyzed by researchers including Harvard's Avi Loeb to understand whether it represents purely natural cometary outgassing or hints at more exotic physics.