Massive Interstellar Comet 3I/ATLAS May Be Alien Artifact, Scientist Suggests

Cambridge, Mass. — A newly detected interstellar comet, 3I/ATLAS, is significantly larger and heavier than previously estimated, according to Harvard astrophysicist Avi Loeb. In a Medium blog post, Loeb suggested the object, weighing over 33 billion tons and spanning at least 3.1 miles, could be an artifact of alien technology rather than a natural body.

Discovered in July, 3I/ATLAS is only the third interstellar object observed entering our solar system, following Oumuamua in 2017 and 2I/Borisov in 2019. It dwarfs its predecessors, with Oumuamua measuring a quarter-mile and Borisov about 0.6 miles across. “This makes 3I/ATLAS three to five orders of magnitude more massive than the previous two interstellar objects we’ve observed,” Loeb wrote.

Observations show the comet shedding large amounts of carbon dioxide and dust as it approaches the Sun. Loeb and his team noted a slight non-gravitational acceleration due to outgassing, indicating a far heavier nucleus than initial models suggested.

Next week, 3I/ATLAS will pass within 1.67 million miles of Mars’ orbit, nearing Jupiter and Venus. Loeb urged NASA to redirect the HiRISE camera on the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter to capture detailed images, noting that even a single bright pixel could refine estimates of its size.

Loeb cautioned against judging the object solely by its chemical composition, likening it to not judging a book by its cover, and emphasized the need for further study to determine its true nature.

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