Harvard astrophysicist Avi Loeb suggested that the purpose of interstellar object 3I/ATLAS flying through the Solar System could be to collect intelligence data. His words were quoted by The New York Post (NYP).
Since the discovery of object 31/ATLAS in July, astrophysicist Loeb has suspected its unnatural nature. What worries scientists the most is the size of the object – according to the Webb telescope, its mass could be up to 33 billion tons.
Loeb noted that this object is at least a thousand times more massive than all previously observed interstellar objects. In this regard, he wondered why such a huge object was located in the inner part of the Solar System, when previously only small interstellar objects had been recorded.
Loeb also believes that humanity should be vigilant and develop a defense plan in case 31/ATLAS turns out to be a Trojan horse. The astrophysicist compared the presence of a comet to a blind date, explaining that one usually expects a friendly partner, but at the same time must take into account the possibility of danger.
According to NASA's official opinion, object 31/ATLAS poses no threat, but the International Asteroid Warning Network (IAWN) has begun monitoring to assess the potential danger.
Loeb argued that the object's observed characteristics did not correspond to the normal behavior of comets. In particular, 31/ATLAS detected an antitail – a stream of particles pointing toward the Sun rather than away from it – as well as a plume of 4 grams of nickel per second with no traces of iron, a nickel tetracarbonyl alloy previously found only in human production.
The astrophysicist also noted the object's zero-gravity acceleration and anomalous orbit, which resulted in a suspicious approach to Jupiter, Venus and Mars. According to him, all these factors suggest that 31/ATLAS may be an alien probe sent to Earth for reconnaissance and may have hostile intentions.
Loeb emphasized that if this object makes its closest approach to the Sun in the near future and disappears from view, this will be evidence that 31/ATLAS is a spacecraft that uses the star's gravity to change its orbit and speed.
Previously, scientists warned about the new comet Lemmon approaching Earth.
