Britt Jones
A massive object heading for Earth has scientists in a pickle as they consider just what it could be.
Any time a large object flies through space and is seen lurking around our tiny planet, people immediately speculate whether it might be the work of extraterrestrial creatures.
Is it a UFO? Or perhaps an ordinary space rock? Usually, those are the only two answers people have for anything floating around in the abyss.
So, when NASA detected 3I/ATLAS, on July 1, people wanted to know what it was.
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Sadly, the scientific world is at odds - for one key reason.
While some 200 researchers have come to the conclusion that it’s probably nothing more than a comet, one scientist doesn’t think so.
Harvard physicist Avi Loeb released his own paper on the matter, claiming that the ‘comet’ is missing one major marker.
“There were claims of a tail,” Loeb said, adding: “But since 3I/ATLAS is accelerating and its current size is not much larger than the angular resolution of Earth-based telescopes, it is not easy to avoid fictitious elongation of the image as a result of the object's motion.”
He then went to question its lack of gas emissions and its trajectory, which aligns too well within the solar system.
Using his own 'Loeb Scale' to evaluate whether something is natural or artificial, he ended up giving 3I/ATLAS a six out of ten.
This score means that it’s likely to have been engineered instead of being a naturally occurring force.
Taking to his Medium blog, the scientist said: “I suggested a `Loeb Scale’ for interstellar objects where `0’ is definitely a natural object (comet or asteroid) and `10’ is definitely a technological object (identified by maneuvers or emission of artificial light or signals). Currently, I give 3I/ATLAS a 6 on that scale, but my assessment will change as we get better data on it when it comes closer to the Sun.”
One of his more outlandish thoughts is that it’s a mothership of some sort, which has been sent to release probes to Earth.
“The more likely scenario from an engineering perspective involves a mothership that releases mini-probes which perform a reverse Oberth maneuver to slow down at perihelion and intercept Earth,” he wrote.
As for his calculations, if true, the probes could reach Earth between November 21 and December 5, 2025.
“It may come to save us or destroy us,” he said. “We'd better be ready for both options and check whether all interstellar objects are rocks.”
Images of 3I/ATLAS taken on July 4 and July 29 this year have shown no signs of a comet tail.
Loeb has proposed the use of NASA's Juno spacecraft to intercept the object near Jupiter next year to find out what it is for once and for all.
He wrote on his blog: “The best we can do is monitor the sky with telescopes. It may well be that 3I/ATLAS is a natural comet. But even then, we have to check each and every interstellar object that the Rubin Observatory will find in the coming decade for anomalous characteristics, like non-gravitational acceleration with no cometary tail or artificial lights or unusual shape.”
He also thinks governments should be well underway with a plan of action if it turns out to be anything more than a space rock.