Harvard physicist Dr. Avi Loeb suggests that the interstellar object 3I/ATLAS, larger than Manhattan, may be a technological probe on a reconnaissance mission due to its unusual characteristics.
A remarkable interstellar object, designated 3I/ATLAS, has recently been observed passing through our solar system, prompting speculation about its origins and purpose. Dr. Avi Loeb, a science professor at Harvard University, has raised the possibility that this object could be more than just a typical comet, suggesting it might be on a reconnaissance mission.
“Maybe the trajectory was designed,” Loeb told Fox News Digital. “If it had an objective to sort of be on a reconnaissance mission, to either send mini probes to those planets or monitor them… It seems quite anomalous.”
3I/ATLAS was first detected in early July by the Asteroid Terrestrial-impact Last Alert System (ATLAS) telescope located in Chile. This discovery marks only the third time an interstellar object has been observed entering our solar system, according to NASA.
While NASA has classified 3I/ATLAS as a comet, Loeb pointed out that an image of the object revealed an unexpected glow in front of it, rather than the typical tail that comets exhibit. “Usually with comets, you have a tail, a cometary tail, where dust and gas are shining, reflecting sunlight, and that’s the signature of a comet,” he explained. “Here, you see a glow in front of it, not behind it.”
Measuring approximately 20 kilometers across, 3I/ATLAS is larger than Manhattan and is unusually bright for its distance from the sun. However, Loeb emphasized that its most peculiar characteristic is its trajectory. He noted that if one imagines objects entering the solar system from random directions, only one in 500 would be aligned so well with the orbits of the planets.
The interstellar object originates from the center of the Milky Way galaxy and is expected to pass near Mars, Venus, and Jupiter. Loeb highlighted the improbability of such an alignment occurring randomly, stating, “It also comes close to each of them, with a probability of one in 20,000.”
According to NASA, 3I/ATLAS will reach its closest point to the sun—approximately 130 million miles away—on October 30. Loeb remarked on the potential implications of the object being technological in nature, saying, “If it turns out to be technological, it would obviously have a big impact on the future of humanity. We have to decide how to respond to that.”
In an interesting twist, the object’s discovery comes seven years after SpaceX CEO Elon Musk launched a Tesla Roadster into orbit. Astronomers from the Minor Planet Center at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics initially confused the vehicle with an asteroid.
A spokesperson for NASA did not immediately respond to requests for comment regarding 3I/ATLAS.
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