The newly discovered interstellar object 3i/Atlas could be part of a “probably hostile” extraterrestrial technology in disguise, according to controversial research from a small group of scientists, including famous alien hunting astronomers.
Their unpeer-reviewed paper reflects similar claims made earlier about “Oumuamua,” the first ever space invader discovered in 2017.
However, experts tell Live Science that the new claim is “nonsense” and “shaming,” claiming that the available evidence points to the object being completely natural.
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3i/Atlas discovered a barrel towards the sun exceeding 130,000 mph (210,000 km/h) on July 1, and within 24 hours it was confirmed to be an interstellar object. The first observations strongly suggest that it is a large comet surrounded by clouds of coma, gas and dust, called coma state, spreads up to 15 miles (24 km). Computer models suggest that it could be up to 3 billion years longer than our solar system, suggesting it could be the oldest comet we’ve ever seen.
However, in a new paper uploaded to preprint server Arxiv on July 16, a trio of researchers question whether comets are in fact some form of secret alien technology sent here by an altar and aggressive turress restoration civilization.
Researchers describe new papers as “educational exercises” or thought experiments, and provide no clear evidence of alien involvement. Instead, they refer to the “anomalous properties” of comets and provide alternative theories to explain them.
Related: Interstellar Comet 3i/Atlas is converted to a giant “space rainbow” with Trippy New Telescope image
The most notable author of this study is Harvard University astronomer Avi Loeb. He is famous for linking extraterrestrial objects to intelligent aliens. He is the head of the Galileo Project and is trying to detect evidence of the technical department and UFO. In 2023 he led a controversial expedition that claimed to have collected fragments of alien technology that could have been left behind by unidentified interstellar met rocks in the Pacific Ocean. (These claims have since been largely exposed by external researchers).
The lobe was also a leading researcher who argued that the unusual shape and non-gravity acceleration of interstellar objects were indications that it was an aliamplobe.
Today, the general consensus is that “Umuamua was, like comets, an asteroid that was leaking gas into space. However, Loeb and his colleagues continue to advocate for the origins of its potential alien, suggesting missions to track the wandering spacelock.
The co-authors of the new research Loeb are both associated with the initiative of Interstellar Studies (I4IS), a British research institute dedicated to planning future missions for the alien star system.
In a blog post describing the new paper, Loeb writes that if 3i/Atlas is a “technical artifact”, it could be evidence of the dark forest hypothesis.
“The outcome is scary to humanity if the hypothesis turns out to be correct, and perhaps defensive measures need to be implemented,” he wrote.
Alien “evidence”
Most of the points laid out in the new paper are related to the unusual trajectory of 3i/Atlas. The object travels significantly faster than the other known interstellar object “Oumuamua and Comet Borisov” discovered in 2019, entering the solar system at a different angle than its predecessor, and approaching the sun compared to the star’s orbit via a milky way.
Loeb writes that the object’s trajectory “provides a variety of benefits to extraterrestrial intelligence,” and it could be using it to spy on Earth subtly. One such advantage is that 3i/Atlas takes a relatively close approach to three planets: Jupiter, Mars and Venus. Also, the minimum distance between objects and these worlds could allow aliens to deploy “gadgets” there individually, Roeb writes.
3i/Atlas will be hidden on the other side of the globe, on the other side of the sun when it reaches the closest point to our home star in late October. “This may be intentional to avoid detailed observations from an earth-based telescope when the object is brightest or when the gadget is sent to Earth from its hidden perspective,” writes Loeb.
Also, at an unusually high speed of 3i/Atlas it makes it very difficult to fire a spacecraft to intercept it before leaving the solar system.
Based on current speed, Loeb also pointed out that the 3i/Atlas had entered the outer boundary of the solar system about 8,000 years ago. However, it is unclear what he is trying to imply by saying this.
The researchers also argued that there is insufficient evidence to ultimately indicate that 3i/Atlas is a comet, especially since researchers have not yet identified “volatiles” or specific chemicals associated with comets in their come sleep states.
Controversial claims
Since the discovery of 3i/Atlas, researchers have been trying to identify it, and so far the overwhelming consensus is that it is a comet.
“There have been numerous telescope observations on the 3i/Atlas, demonstrating that it shows a classic signature of comet activity,” said Darryl Seligman, an astronomer at Michigan State University who led the first study quantifying the 3i/Atlas, in an email to Live Science.
“All evidence shows that this is a normal comet that has been kicked out of another solar system, just as countless billions of comets have been expelled from our own solar system,” added Samantha Lawler, an astronomer specializing in solar system dynamics at the University of Regina in Canada.
Assumptions about the shortage of volatile substances in objects are also premature at this time. “The object is still quite far from the sun, so no, you wouldn’t expect to find any direct evidence of volatiles,” Seligman said. Instead, he added that these compounds are likely to become apparent in the coming weeks and months.
Loeb admits that the alien technology scenario is a long shot. “The most likely result is that 3i/atlas is a completely natural interstellar object, and perhaps a comet,” he wrote in a blog post.
Given the available evidence, many of the researchers who spoke to Live Science pointed out that they were disappointed by the new paper and diverted them from the work of other scientists.
“Astronomers around the world are excited about the arrival of 3i/Atlas and are working together to use advanced telescopes to learn about this visitor,” Oxford University astronomer Chris Lintott, who was part of the team that simulated the galactic origins of 3i/Atlas, told Live Science via email. “The proposal that it is artificial is nonsense in the stilts and is an insult to the exciting work that is happening to understand this object.”
Not a person used to this type of criticism, Loeb defended his position by writing that “hypothesis is an interesting exercise in itself and is fun to explore regardless of its potential validity.”
However, while it’s important to stay open about “testable predictions,” the new paper is pushing this sentiment to the limit, Lawler told Live Science via email. “In my experience, the majority of scientists agree with the idea that extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence, and that the evidence presented is absolutely not unusual.”
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