Nasa scientists have issued an update about the "interstellar object" hurtling through our solar system.
Suggestions had previously been made that the object may be a sign of extraterrestrial life.
Professor Avi Loeb, the head of Harvard University's Galileo Project, which searches for evidence of extraterrestrial intelligence, wrote in a scientific paper in July that Comet 3I/Atlas could be artificially created.
Loeb suggested it could be "a technological artefact" with "active intelligence" because it is following a strange path, and has not given off gaseous tails of dust and plasma which are common with comets originating inside the solar system.
A11pl3Z or 3I/ATLAS measures an estimated 12 miles in width | GETTYHe also said the object could be heading with "malign intent" towards Earth, adding: "The consequences, should the hypothesis turn out to be correct, could potentially be dire for humanity, and would possible require defensive measures to be undertaken, though these might prove futile."
Although Prof Loeb himself has said he does not necessarily believe in this train of thought, he does argue it is worthy of discussion.
But scientists at Nasa have shut down his ideas.
Dr Tom Statler, Nasa's lead scientist for solar system small bodies, said: "It looks like a comet. It does comet things. It very, very strongly resembles, in just about every way, the comets that we know.
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Avi Loeb suggested the object could be artificially made
|GETTY
"It has some interesting properties that are a little bit different from our solar system comets, but it behaves like a comet.
"And so the evidence is overwhelmingly pointing to this object being a natural body. It is a comet."
Nasa has been using telescopes both on the ground and in space to monitor the "object" since it was first noticed in July.
Data from the Hubble Space Telescope suggests the object is flying through space at an incredible 130,000mph - the highest velocity ever recorded for a visitor to the solar system.
The comet will pass close to Mars, Jupiter and Venus
|NASA
Dr Statler added that the comet is not likely to come any closer to Earth than 170 million miles because of the positioning of surrounding planets.
Instead, it will pass close to Mars, Jupiter and Venus.
Prof Loeb has also acknowledged that "the simplest hypothesis is that 3I/Atlas is a comet".
He said he was challenging preconceived ideas by raising alternative opinions, adding: "Let us maintain our childhood curiosity and seek evidence rather than pretend to be the adults in the room that know the answers in advance.
"The hypothesis is an interesting exercise in its own right, and is fun to pursue, irrespective of its likely validity."