It has been thoroughly debunked by multiple researchers, including Wright, whose co-authored breakdown of the key claims ends with a more rational conclusion, one that the wider community shares: It’s a comet (or asteroid) whose shape is no weirder than many of the objects found in the outer solar system and whose odd acceleration can, in fact, be explained by several different natural processes, including the vaporization of ices acting like an ephemeral rocket booster.