Callum Jones
The much-talked-about 'hostile' object heading towards Earth continues to surprise scientists after experts discovered a 'heartbeat' beaming from it.
It was back in July when 3I/ATLAS was first spotted tumbling towards our solar system by the NASA-funded ATLAS survey telescope at Río Hurtado, Chile.
The object was of particular interest to experts because it's only the third known to have originated from interstellar space - which does suggest it comes from beyond our own solar system.
Scientists quickly came to the conclusion that the object was traveling too fast to be bound by the Sun's gravity, at more than 41 miles per second.
Advert
While the object will reach the closest it will ever get to Earth in just a matter of weeks, experts are continuing to monitor the behaviour of the object and the characteristics it's showcasing.
And based on recent finds, Harvard scientist Avi Loeb believes 3I/ATLAS has a mysterious 'heartbeat'.
"The pulses could be periodic thrusts for orbit corrections or some other internal cycle within the spacecraft," the expert told the New York Post.
Advert
Loeb, alongside the rest of the researchers, detailed their latest findings in a blog post, which revealed this so-called 'heartbeat' would release pulses of light every 16 hours.
“Overall, 3I shows characteristics typical of weakly active outer Solar System comets, despite its interstellar origin,” the researchers penned.
"Continued monitoring around perihelion is necessary to track changes in activity, color, which will provide insights into the evolution of interstellar materials under solar radiation.”
Loeb went on to add: "In the context of a natural comet, this can arise from a sunward jet (anti-tail) that is initiated only when a large pocket of ice on one side of the nucleus is facing the Sun.
Advert
"As a result, the coma will get pumped up every time the ice pocket is facing the Sun."
Loeb noted in his findings, however, that the 'direction of the pulsing jet' might 'not necessarily [be] pointing towards the Sun'.
Whatever the conclusion may be, scientists believe that gathering information as to how these pulses change over time could provide more answers regarding 31/ATLAS.
Advert
Loeb went on to say the 'heartbeat pattern' should have been captured by experts in pictures, but, unfortunately, 'none were systematically studied in the published literature'
Loeb added: "A movie showing the periodic brightening of the jets around 3I/ATLAS over several days can reveal whether the jets are natural or technology-based on the orientation of the heartbeat pattern relative to the Sun."