- By Supratik Das
- Mon, 28 Jul 2025 03:20 PM (IST)
- Source:JND
A mysterious space body called 3I/ATLAS, moving at an incredible velocity of 209,214 km/h, is now passing through the Solar System, and it has left the international scientific community divided. Found on July 1 by a Chilean observatory, the body has been established as the third interstellar visitor detected, following ʻOumuamua in 2017 and Borisov in 2019.
Is It Alien?
In a recent paper, co-written by celebrated Harvard astrophysicist Avi Loeb and researchers Adam Hibberd and Adam Crowl from the London-based Initiative for Interstellar Studies, comes a bold hypothesis, 3I/ATLAS is an extraterrestrial spacecraft, perhaps on a stealth reconnaissance mission. The non-peer-reviewed paper, published on July 16, contends that the highly unique path, speed, and course of the object through the Solar System, including close flybys of Venus, Mars, and Jupiter, are too accurate to be happenstance. "The chances of its trajectory coinciding within 5 degrees of Earth's orbital plane are only 0.2 per cent. Its precision suggests the possibility of intentional targeting."
In a surprise that has further stoked rumors, 3I/ATLAS will be passing behind the Sun in late November and will be out of sight to telescopes on Earth at closest approach. This may be a strategic move to remain undetected, particularly if 3I/ATLAS is intended for surveillance or spy missions. "Perhaps it's planting devices or obtaining information on planetary flybys," Loeb posted in an recent blog, even invoking the Dark Forest Theory, which proposes extraterrestrial civilizations might favor stealth over communication to prevent conflict.
Despite the viral excitement, most astronomers remain unconvinced. Dr. Samantha Lawler, an astronomer at Canada’s University of Regina, insists the evidence aligns with 3I/ATLAS being a typical interstellar comet, likely ejected from a distant solar system. “It’s composed of ices and silicates, similar to other known comets,” she said, also pointing out that the alien theory lacks peer review. Chris Lintott, an astrophysicist from the University of Oxford, went further, calling the extraterrestrial hypothesis “nonsense on stilts.”
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Object's Size And Origin Contribute To Enigma
Estimated at 10 to 24 kilometres wide, possibly wider than Manhattan, 3I/ATLAS is made of ancient matter, such as water and carbon-rich substances that predate the formation of our Solar System by billions of years. Its official name, 3I/ATLAS, makes it just the third interstellar object in recorded history, and with its fast speed and uncharacteristic entry angle into the Solar System, it stands out from its predecessors. Even if researchers wished to probe the object further, present space technology is inadequate. Our fastest spacecraft, Loeb tells us, can only go a third as fast as 3I/ATLAS, so a direct chase mission remains impossible at this time.
As 3I/ATLAS continues its high-speed travel towards the Sun, astronomers all over the world watch and study its trajectory. Whether the object proves to be an extremely rare comet or an extraterrestrial device on a covert mission, it has resurfaced an age-old question, Are we alone in the universe, or already observed?