A new interstellar visitor, 3I/Atlas, has entered our solar system, sparking debate among astronomers. Harvard's Avi Loeb suggests it could be an alien spacecraft, while NASA remains skeptical, asserting it behaves like a typical comet. Despite its unusual characteristics, NASA assures that 3I/Atlas poses no threat to Earth.
Record-Breaking Comet: A Threat to Earth?
Record-Breaking Comet: A Threat to Earth?
Once again, we have a visitor from beyond our solar system. A potential threat to Earth from an intelligent civilization, claims a renowned Harvard astronomer. Nonsense, counters NASA.
This marks the third time an interstellar object—something flying through space not originating from our solar system—has come near Earth.
The last occurrence was in 2019 when comet 2I/Borisov passed by at a distance of about 300 million kilometers.
However, 2I/Borisov did not receive as much attention as 1I/Oumuamua did two years earlier.
The name says a lot: Oumuamua is Hawaiian for "scout" or "pathfinder," and astronomers noted that the object both rotated and was assumed to have the unusual shape of being hundreds of meters long but only tens of meters wide.
As the "scout" passed the sun away from Earth, it accelerated more than gravitational forces should cause. Unfortunately, 1I/Oumuamua was discovered too late and traveled too fast for anyone to get a sufficiently good image.
A few years ago, Harvard's top astronomer Avi Loeb concluded that Oumuamua should be seen as a spacecraft from an alien civilization.
– I propose that the simplest explanation for these peculiarities is that the object was created by an intelligent, extraterrestrial civilization, he argued, elaborating on this in his book "Extraterrestrial: The First Sign of Intelligent Life Beyond Earth."
The Hypothesis – Could Attack Earth
Now, Loeb is at it again, raising his voice about the interstellar object 3I/Atlas, which entered the solar system earlier this year.
However, two things differ from how Loeb discussed 1I/Oumuamua. First, he doesn't seem as convinced that Atlas is from an intelligent civilization. Second, NASA—referring to 1I/Oumuamua as an asteroid—is possibly even more skeptical of Loeb this time.
– Atlas looks like a comet. It does comet things. It has very, very strong similarities with other comets we know, says Tom Statler, one of NASA's chief scientists, to the Guardian.
But Loeb argues that Atlas seems to lack a characteristic gas tail and points out that the flight path for 3I/Atlas is "unorthodox." The most far-fetched hypothesis is that 3I/Atlas, under the cover of the sun, could deliberately change course—and attack Earth.
– Atlas has absolutely some different characteristics, says Tom Statler from NASA. But it behaves like a comet.
NASA: "3I/Atlas is No Threat to Earth"
The interstellar visitor is a fast one. With an estimated speed of over 200,000 kilometers per hour, 3I/Atlas is the fastest object ever to visit the solar system. According to images analyzed by NASA, 3I/Atlas could be as much as half a mile in diameter.
The comet is passing close to Mars this October on its way toward the sun, and near Jupiter on its way out in March next year. However, it is expected to pass a good distance from Earth.