Washington (AFP) — A flying piece of cosmic rock or an alien threat? Comet 3I/ATLAS is hurtling through our solar system and captivating scientists and internet users alike, even prompting Kim Kardashian to ask NASA for answers.

Questions on whether the comet could actually be an alien spacecraft are coming from sources as varied as the reality TV star, a member of US Congress and a Harvard researcher, as well as from prominent conspiracy theorists.

But that theory has been shot down by NASA, which released new images of the comet on Wednesday after the speculation gained traction online.

“It’s amazing to see how people are really engaged in the discussion,” said Thomas Puzia, an astrophysicist who led the team at the Chilean observatory that made the discovery.

But, “it’s very dangero

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