Ellie Kemp
Harvard physicist Avi Loeb has broken down exactly what could happen next as interstellar object 3I/ATLAS makes its closest approach to the Sun.
Back in July, NASA's ATLAS telescope in Chile spotted a mysterious space object moving at break-neck speeds towards our planet.
It was determined to be an interstellar space object (ISO), meaning it originated from far beyond our own Solar System.
The third of its kind, 3I/ATLAS joins 'Oumuamua, discovered in 2017, and Borisov, found in 2019.
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Loeb has long explored the possibility of unusual object being an 'alien mothership'.
And 3I/ATLAS reaches perihelion - its closest approach to the Sun - today (October 29), just two days before Halloween.
And if it is alien, then we've got to hand it to our extra-terrestrial overlords; that's some peak humor and top-tier cultural research from them.
In a recent blog post, Loeb explained how perihelion could tell us a lot more about 3I/ATLAS' true nature.
The object faces being blasted by 770 watts of heat per square meter from the Sun today, with Loeb suggesting that, if it were a natural comet, it may break up into fragments 'which evaporate more quickly as a result of their large surface area per unit mass'.
"The resulting fireworks might generate a much brighter cometary plume of gas and dust around it," he added.
But, if 3I/ATLAS was 'technologically manufactured', Loeb theorizes 'it might maneuver or release mini-probes'.
"Other technological signatures include artificial lights or excess heat from an engine," he added.
Explaining more on perihelion itself, Loeb says it's the 'optimal time' for a spacecraft to either accelerate or decelerate thanks to the gravitational assist from the Sun.
"This is also true of a mothership releasing mini-probes that maneuver towards the planets," he warned. Ominous, right?
And even if 3I/ATLAS doesn't send probes towards Earth today, then it might still be targeting us nearer Christmas instead.
"On December 19, 2025, 6 days before Christmas, 3I/ATLAS will get to its closest distance of 267 million kilometers from Earth, assuming a purely gravitational trajectory," Loeb explained in his latest update.
"Will 3I/ATLAS send mini-probes towards Earth as Christmas gifts to humanity?" he pondered.
Loeb has now asked his research team to check for 'any unusual activity by anomalous objects in the Earth’s atmosphere' based on data from the Galileo Observatories in the coming months.
It's then, Loeb says, that we'll know more about 3I/ATLAS' true nature.
After making its closest approach to Earth, the supposed comet will pass by Jupiter in March 2026 before continuing its journey into deep interstellar space.
Space organizations, including NASA, have maintained that 3I/ATLAS is a comet and poses no threat to us.
Only time will tell...