Get the Popular Science daily newsletter💡 Breakthroughs, discoveries, and DIY tips sent every weekday. Early examinations noted the comet’s gas coma–the cloud of sublimated debris formed as it passes near a star–experienced a “rapid brightening” compared to previously observed comets at similar distances from the sun. “We don’t have any evidence for the gas coma changing colors,” Zhang told Space.com on November 7. There are even multiple photos from hobbyist astronomers around that time that already show 3I/ATLAS possessing a bluish-green gas coma. So, no, the United States didn’t orchestrate a government shutdown to cover up E.T tourists–but that doesn’t mean the comet isn’t worth your admiration.