3I/ATLAS, an interstellar object that recently passed Mars and the Sun, will be visible to many telescopes from November through January. Harvard astrophysicist Avi Loeb has suggested its non-gravitational acceleration and blue color could hint at an artificial origin, though he acknowledges natural cometary explanations are plausible. Organizations like the Planetary Society and other researchers favor cometary or age-related explanations. The event has attracted intense public interest — careful, peer-reviewed analysis and reputable sources are essential as observations continue.
Mysterious Interstellar Visitor 3I/ATLAS Keeps Behaving Oddly — Could It Be an Alien Probe?
3I/ATLAS, an interstellar object that recently passed Mars and the Sun, will be visible to many telescopes from November through January. Harvard astrophysicist Avi Loeb has suggested its non-gravitational acceleration and blue color could hint at an artificial origin, though he acknowledges natural cometary explanations are plausible. Organizations like the Planetary Society and other researchers favor cometary or age-related explanations. The event has attracted intense public interest — careful, peer-reviewed analysis and reputable sources are essential as observations continue.
03:18, 04.11.2025Science
Mysterious Interstellar Visitor 3I/ATLAS Keeps Behaving Oddly — Could It Be an Alien Probe?
The interstellar object 3I/ATLAS is continuing its passage through the Solar System. After a close approach to Mars and a perihelion passage near the Sun, the object will be observable with many ground- and space-based telescopes from November through January, offering scientists a rare opportunity to study an object from another star system.
Harvard astrophysicist Avi Loeb — a high-profile and sometimes controversial figure — has argued that two of the object's unusual properties could point to an artificial origin: measurable non-gravitational acceleration and an unexpectedly blue color. In a recent paper and a Medium post he suggested these features might be consistent with an internal engine or an artificial source of light, while acknowledging that natural explanations remain possible.
“Alternatively, the non-gravitational acceleration might be the technological signature of an internal engine,” Loeb wrote, adding that the blue hue could be produced by a hot engine or artificial illumination but could also arise from cometary activity.
Other scientists and organizations urge caution. The Planetary Society and many researchers classify 3I/ATLAS — like 2017's 'Oumuamua and 2019's 2I/Borisov — as an interstellar comet: unusual, but still a comet. Some researchers propose that the object's odd behavior could be explained by natural processes such as outgassing or surface changes accumulated over billions of years from cosmic-ray exposure and micrometeorite impacts.
A notable part of the debate centers on the object's trajectory: it made relatively close passes to several planets and spent time behind the Sun from Earth's perspective, which complicated early observations and contributed to speculation. That coincidence has fueled attention and raised questions about probability, but coincidence alone is not evidence of intelligence.
Public figures and online commentators have amplified the story. Representative Anna Paulina Luna, acting NASA head Sean Duffy, and podcaster Joe Rogan have all commented publicly, and social media has produced a stream of sensational headlines and speculative artwork. While such attention increases public interest, it also risks spreading misinformation if the underlying science is oversimplified.
Why this matters
Whether 3I/ATLAS proves to be a natural interstellar comet or something more exotic, the event is scientifically valuable. Close study can improve our understanding of material from other star systems and refine how we detect and interpret interstellar visitors in the future. Loeb’s advocacy has pushed the object into the spotlight, helping attract observational resources — but careful, peer-reviewed analysis remains essential.
How to follow the story: prioritize primary scientific sources and reputable institutions (peer-reviewed papers, the Planetary Society, major observatories, and university press releases). Popular coverage can be useful for context, but technical claims should be verified against the scientific literature.