The interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS has triggered an intense debate and research frenzy in the scientific community due to its fascinating behaviour. While a majority of scientists insist it is nothing but an odd comet, Harvard physicist Avi Loeb believes it could be more than just that. For the unversed, 3I/ATLAS is the third confirmed object from outside our solar system and it was discovered by the NASA-funded Asteroid Terrestrial-impact Last Alert System (ATLAS) telescope in Río Hurtado, Chile.
Ever since the comet’s discovery, Loeb has published 11 scientific papers, outlining nine anomalies of the comet which could prove its extraterrestrial origin. Loeb believes that 3I/ATLAS’s arrival could be a “Black Swan Event” which could have huge implications for humanity.
“If we ever encounter alien technology, everything will change. It will affect the financial markets, it will affect politics in a major way,” the physicist said on the Joe Rogan Experience (JRE). “So my point is, this is different from other scientific matters because intelligence agencies know very well that events with very small probability have to be considered seriously because they could have major implications.”
Interestingly, he is on the verge of adding another anomaly to the list.
Comet 3I/ATLAS and its anomalies
In one of his recent blogs, Loeb says that he is looking forward to the comet’s observations by ground-based telescopes when it arrives at its closest point to Earth on December 19. Based on his calculations, Loeb calculated that if the comet is indeed natural, it must have lost 15 percent of its total mass at perihelion (closest point to the Sun) on October 29 and therefore built a massive cloud of dust around its nucleus.
According to Loeb’s calculations, 3I/ATLAS is about 5 km in diameter and has a mass of 33 billion tons, with a nucleus about a million times more massive than 1I/Oumuamua (2017) and a thousand times more massive than 2I/Borisov (2019) [first and second confirmed interstellar objects, respectively]. Notably, Loeb had then suggested that Oumuamua might also be alien technology citing anomalies like lack of cometary features, unexplained acceleration and unusual high brightness but it wasn’t conclusive.
“If we do not observe a massive cloud of gas around 3I/ATLAS in December, then the reported non-gravitational acceleration near perihelion might be regarded as a technological signature of a propulsion system,” Loeb wrote, meaning a lack of gas cloud could mean that the object is being powered by alien technology. He arrived at this conclusion after noting a ‘non-gravitational acceleration’ of the comet, which pushed it a few degrees away from where it’s supposed to be in its trajectory around the Sun.
In his blog, Loeb noted that one of the comet’s several anomalies is its composition. Its gas plume contains more nickel than iron which is unusual for comets when you compare it to 2I/Borisov. He pointed out that alloys with more nickel than iron are industrially produced on Earth and specifically used in aerospace industry. “Maybe the skin of this object is industrially produced,” Loeb told Joe Rogan. He further elaborated on the anomalies saying the comet’s tail, as considered by his colleagues, was pointing toward the Sun (also known as anti-tail) instead of extending away from it like a jet. Loeb, however, mentioned that the jet transformed into a tail by September. Loeb said there have been cases of anti-tail spotting but they were optical illusions (perspective-wise) unlike 3I/ATLAS.
Moreover, the comet’s direction of arrival was within 9 degrees of the “Wow! Signal,” which was the mysterious radio signals that were detected in 1977. “All of these are interesting indications that may imply that some intelligence designed the trajectory. It could be a Black Swan event,” Loeb said. Another interesting anomaly observed by Loeb was the comet’s unusual brightness when it shone bluer than the Sun near perihelion. “It could be something that affects the future of humanity and if we behave very conservatively, we may not last very long,” he added.
Loeb also addressed his critics who are against the idea of 3I/ATLAS being alien technology. “I’m not willing to change what I say just to be liked,” he told Rogan asking scientists to be more open-minded to the possibility.
He said he was surprised over lack of curiosity among other scientists and their unwillingness to consider alternatives to the interstellar visitor’s origin. “They’re afraid of taking risks,” Loeb said adding that he is working to inspire a debate to collect as much data as possible on the comet. He has also objected to NASA delaying the release of images captured from Mars recently due to the US government shutdown.
