Harvard Astronomer Suggests Interstellar Object May Be Alien Technology
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An interstellar object named 3I/ATLAS is making waves in the scientific community, with Harvard astronomer Avi Loeb suggesting it could be alien technology. According to The New York Sun, this object is estimated to be the size of a city block and is the third known interstellar visitor to our solar system.
Expected to make its closest approach to Earth in mid-December, it will pass within approximately 167 million miles. Professor Loeb theorizes that 3I/ATLAS displays unusual behaviors inconsistent with typical comets.
He points out that its path aligns closely with the plane of our solar system's planets, a coincidence he claims has a one in 500 chance of occurring randomly. Notably, this object is reported to be around one million times more massive than Oumuamua, the first interstellar object detected back in 2017.
Recent images have shown at least seven jets of material emanating from 3I/ATLAS, with some jets appearing to point towards the Sun, contrary to the behavior expected from a natural comet. Loeb stated that the jets' trajectory raises questions about whether they could be evidence of thrusters used for navigation on a spacecraft.
He argues that the energy required for the observed mass loss is far greater than what the Sun could provide for an object of this size. This discrepancy leads him to suggest that 3I/ATLAS may not be a natural object at all.
Loeb's theories have faced skepticism from the scientific establishment, which he compares to historical resistance faced by groundbreaking ideas. He emphasizes the importance of maintaining an open mind in science, stating that curiosity and wonder are what make it exciting.
He calls for the scientific community to explore the possibility that this might be a visit from alien technology. As 3I/ATLAS approaches its closest point to Earth on December 19, astronomers will be observing closely, with the potential for this interstellar visitor to change everything we know about our universe.