The Truth Is Out There News: Harvard astrophysicist warns interstellar object 3I/ATLAS may be alien technology on sunbound path

Harvard astrophysicist warns interstellar object 3I/ATLAS may be alien technology on sunbound path

Avi Loeb: 'the orbit of 3I/ATLAS coincides with the plane of the Earth by only 5 degrees - the probability of such a coincidence occurring randomly is only 0.2%'.

By Jerusalem Post Staff, July 31, 2025

https://www.jpost.com/science/article-862821

3I/ATLAS. Image: International Gemini Observatory/NOIRLab/NSF/AURA/K. Meech (IfA/U. Hawaii). (photo credit: Processing: Jen Miller & Mahdi Zamani (NSF NOIRLab))

A working paper uploaded on July 17 by Harvard University astrophysicist Avi Loeb with researchers Adam Drowl and Adam Hibberd suggests some features of the interstellar object 3I/ATLAS “may indicate artificial origin.”

NASA said a Chilean telescope first detected the object on 1 July, with images later traced back to mid-June. The discovery was sent to the Minor Planet Center, which issued the provisional designation C/2025 Q1 (3I/ATLAS), making it the third confirmed interstellar visitor after ʻOumuamua in 2017 and comet 2I/Borisov in 2019.

3I/ATLAS is traveling at about 210,000 km/h—too fast for current spacecraft to intercept. Early size estimates ranged from 20 km in diameter to roughly seven miles for its nucleus, according to Index and Futurism, while NASA said precise dimensions remain under study.

Loeb’s paper argued that the object follows a trajectory passing Venus, Mars, and Jupiter and that its orbital plane aligns with Earth’s within five degrees, a circumstance he calculated had just a 0.2 percent chance of occurring randomly, Index reported. He conceded that 3I/ATLAS was “much more likely” a natural comet but added that some features “may indicate artificial origin,” wrote the Economic Times.

Skeptics quickly responded. “Multiple telescopes are demonstrating that it’s displaying classical signatures of cometary activity,” said Darryl Seligman of Michigan State University, according to People. Richard Moissl, head of the European Space Agency’s Planetary Defense Office, told Index there was nothing unusual in the observational data. Chris Lintott of Oxford warned through the Economic Times that the alien-technology hypothesis risked distracting researchers.

Loeb previously suggested that ʻOumuamua might resemble a light sail from an alien civilization, the Economic Times recalled. In his new manuscript he again referenced the “dark forest” hypothesis—popularized by novelist Liu Cixin—which posits that advanced civilizations might strike first to eliminate threats, Index wrote.

“3I/ATLAS shows significant non-gravitational acceleration,” Loeb said, claiming that cometary outgassing alone could not account for the motion and might hint at propulsion, according to Index. He calculated that the object will pass behind the Sun relative to Earth on 29 October, making ground-based observation impossible at perihelion, Zougla reported.

NASA emphasized that the comet “poses no threat to Earth and will remain far away,” People noted. Loeb countered in LadBible that it might be “secretly approaching Earth to prepare for an attack,” urging that all scenarios be considered.

Astronomers worldwide are gathering data before the object departs, the Economic Times observed, and Futurism said engineers discussed but ultimately doubted whether NASA’s Juno orbiter has enough fuel for an intercept.

Most researchers still classify 3I/ATLAS as a comet composed of dust and ice within a coma about 24 km across, the Economic Times stated. “Until we reach the data we have, we must evaluate all possibilities,” said Loeb, according to People.

'Possibly Hostile' Alien Threat Detected In Unknown Interstellar Object 3I/ATLAS, Moving 130k Mph

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