• Source:JND
Add as a preferred

A strange object called 3I/ATLAS is shooting through our solar system at mind-boggling speed, generating scientific interest as well as outlandish speculation. The object was first spotted in July 2025 by the ATLAS survey telescope, and it has since been formally declared the third-ever interstellar visitor following ʻOumuamua in 2017 and 2I/Borisov in 2019. But whether it is a comet, a rock, or indeed an alien vehicle remains very much up for debate.

Astronomers at NASA favour classifying 3I/ATLAS as a comet. A number of its features don't fit with normal cometary behavior. Even as it comes closer to the Sun, the object has no observable tail, a characteristic common to comets when ice and dust vaporise with solar heat.

Adding to the intrigue, the object is enormous, apparently bigger than Manhattan Island, and its brightness seems to be from the reflection of sunlight from a solid surface instead of the typical dust and gas halo. Furthermore, it is moving at over 130,000 miles per hour, faster than any other object generally confined by the Sun's gravity. This speed irrevocably points towards an interstellar origin, with certain astronomers opining that it can have been ejected from its parent star system close to the Milky Way center.

ALSO READ: 'Unbox My Dead Cat With Me’: New York Woman Freeze-Dries Late Pet, Sparks Outrage On Instagram | Watch Viral Video

Harvard Astronomer's Brash Assertion

Among those who are skeptical of the "comet" hypothesis is Harvard astrophysicist Avi Loeb, author of contentious interstellar object theories. Loeb made headlines worldwide in 2017 when he posited that ʻOumuamua could have been man-made. Now, he is suggesting that 3I/ATLAS is an "extraterrestrial artifact", even a mothership sent by an alien civilisation to monitor, or even communicate with, humans.

Talking to Fox 10 Phoenix, Loeb highlighted the strange aspects of the object: "Its huge size and the character of its brightness indicate reflection off a solid body instead of a cloud of gas." He contends this peculiarity should not be overlooked and may be a chance to explore potential evidence of intelligent life elsewhere in the universe.

What's Next For Space Exploration?

Natural causes are the most popular explanation with NASA and the majority of astronomers. However, Loeb asserts that interstellar visitors such as 3I/ATLAS should challenge human beings to think bigger. "Such a discovery might inspire us to venture into interstellar space, far from our present travel plans for the Moon and Mars," he stated.

ALSO READ: VIDEO: Helicopter Crashes Into Lake While Scooping Water To Fight Wildfires In France | Scary Visual Goes Viral

For the time being, Earth's space aspirations stay in the neighborhood. NASA's Artemis program will put people back on the Moon, but Elon Musk still hopes to colonise Mars.