Interstellar visitor 3I/ATLAS possibly hostile alien probe

3I/ATLAS as an interstellar visitor, discovered on July 1. Estimated to be up to 15 miles (24 kilometers) wide, it’s barreling toward the Sun at over 130,000 mph. Fortunately, it won’t come closer to Earth than 1.6 astronomical units — about 150 million miles (240 million kilometers) according to NASA.

NASA insists there’s no reason for concern — it’s just a comet, end of story. But here’s where things get interesting: 3I/ATLAS is the third known interstellar object to enter our solar system, following the enigmatic ‘Oumuamua in 2017 and comet Borisov in 2019. And like those two, it behaves in ways that deviate from what we expect of natural comets.

A newly published paper on the preprint server arXiv (July 16) challenges NASA’s official explanation. The study, co-authored by three scientists, including Harvard astrophysicist Avi Loeb, suggests that 3I/ATLAS might not be a comet at all. Instead, the team proposes it could be an artificial object: a surveillance probe sent by an unknown extraterrestrial intelligence, possibly even one with hostile intent.

Loeb, warns that if this hypothesis turns out to be accurate, the consequences for humanity could be profound. He suggests that preparing defensive countermeasures might be necessary if this object poses a real threat.

What makes 3I/ATLAS so unusual?

According to Loeb, the object’s trajectory is so rare that the odds of a natural comet following the same path are less than 0.005%.

It will pass unusually close to three planets — Venus, Mars, and Jupiter — raising further suspicion.

Most telling of all: 3I/ATLAS lacks a coma, the cloud of gas and dust that typically surrounds comets.

“When analyzed with an open mind, the data offers compelling evidence that 3I/ATLAS may be technological in nature,” Loeb explained.

In fact, Loeb outlines eight specific reasons why this object likely isn’t a natural interstellar visitor — and why it may be of artificial origin. (You can read his full breakdown (here).

The idea that this mysterious object might be an alien craft, possibly one preparing for closer contact with Earth, is unsettling to say the least. For now, we can only wait, watch… and wonder.

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