Avi Loeb says the CIA responded to a FOIA request by declining to "neither confirm nor deny" records about interstellar object 3I/ATLAS. Loeb highlights several anomalous features of the object and suggests the agency may have probed potential national-security risks, including rare "black swan" scenarios. The CIA's reply, however, does not confirm the existence of records, and many scientists still favor a natural-comet explanation. Loeb urges more observations when 3I/ATLAS nears Jupiter in March.
CIA 'Neither Confirm Nor Deny' Records on Interstellar Visitor 3I/ATLAS — Loeb Calls For Closer Scrutiny
A ufologist's Freedom of Information Act inquiry about documents related to interstellar object 3I/ATLAS was mysteriously shut down.
Harvard astronomer Avi Loeb has renewed calls for closer study of the interstellar object 3I/ATLAS after reporting that the CIA declined to “neither confirm nor deny” the existence of agency records about the visitor in response to a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request.
Background
Loeb, a prominent and sometimes controversial voice in the search for extraterrestrial technology, has long argued that 3I/ATLAS could be an engineered object rather than a routine interstellar comet. He has pointed to several unusual features — an unusually large estimated size, an axis of rotation nearly perpendicular to the Sun, and a trajectory that passed unusually close to Mars and Jupiter — which he says merit additional scrutiny.
FOIA Response and Reactions
UFO researcher John Greenewald Jr., founder of the FOIA archive The Black Vault, asked the CIA for "any assessments, reports, or communications" referencing 3I/ATLAS. The CIA replied that it would “neither confirm nor deny the existence or nonexistence of records” — a standard national-security response that leaves open multiple interpretations.
“If this conclusion was clear all along to everyone within government and academia — as NASA officials presented the case — then why would the CIA treat the possible existence of records dealing with a natural comet as sensitive enough to be classified?” Loeb wrote on his blog.
Possible Explanations
Loeb suggested the agency might have investigated whether 3I/ATLAS posed any national-security risk, including remote but high-impact “black swan” scenarios. He has previously speculated that a technological object could masquerade as a natural body — likening such a possibility to a Trojan Horse — and argued that discussions about extreme risks might be kept from the public to avoid unnecessary alarm.
However, the CIA’s reply did not confirm the existence of records, and many astronomers continue to find natural-comet explanations more convincing as additional observations accumulate. NASA has publicly described 3I/ATLAS as a comet of natural origin, and images from the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter that Loeb criticized as delayed were released in late November after earlier setbacks tied to a government shutdown.
Next Steps
Loeb is urging renewed observation when 3I/ATLAS approaches Jupiter in March, arguing that closer measurements could help settle whether the object is an inert chunk of ice and rock or something more unusual. “Unless we check, we might never know if this swan is white or black,” he wrote.
More on 3I/ATLAS: Scientists Announce Results After Scanning 3I/ATLAS for Alien Signals.
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