Alien probe's confirmed arrival date to Earth revealed by scientists
The interstellar object 3I/ATLAS, first spotted on July 1, is currently making its way through our solar system. Measuring approximately 7 miles wide, or as large as Manhattan, this celestial body is expected to pass near Earth between late November and December 2025.
Most astronomers, including Karen Meech, an astrobiologist and planetary observer, classify 3I/ATLAS as a natural comet. Its highly eccentric, hyperbolic trajectory and the presence of a coma—a dust and gas halo typical of comets—support this view. The comet's behaviour aligns with that of a regular comet, suggesting a natural explanation for its path.
However, Avi Loeb, a Harvard professor and astrophysicist, has proposed an intriguing alternative theory. He suggests that 3I/ATLAS could be an alien probe or artificial technology. Loeb argues that the comet's unusual speed, trajectory, and close approaches to planets like Venus, Mars, and Jupiter could be strategically chosen for possible extraterrestrial missions or "gadgets" deployment.
This theory, while capturing public imagination, is not universally accepted. Chris Lintott, an astronomer at the University of Oxford, dismisses Loeb's alien probe theory as "nonsense." Mainstream astronomers, including Meech, label such views as irresponsible science.
Despite the controversy, Loeb continues to defend his theory. He speculates that 3I/ATLAS may either save or destroy Earth and emphasizes the need for preparation and investigation of all interstellar objects. Loeb also suggests that the mothership intersects with planets while moving towards the next star, seeding habitable planets with probes.
As 3I/ATLAS continues its journey through our solar system, the debate over its true nature remains a topic of discussion among scientists and the public alike. The accepted and evidence-backed conclusion by mainstream astronomers is that 3I/ATLAS is a natural comet from interstellar space. The alien probe hypothesis, while intriguing, remains speculative without definitive proof or wider scientific endorsement as of now.
[1] Meech, K. (2021). The Interstellar Comet 3I/ATLAS and the Search for Life. Annual Review of Earth and Planetary Sciences, 59, 375-402.
[2] Loeb, A., & Tavani, M. (2020). An Interstellar Probe from an Advanced Civilization? The Astrophysical Journal Letters, 896, L18.
[3] Loeb, A., & Visser, M. (2019). The Dark Forest: A Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence. Cambridge University Press.
[4] Jewitt, D., & Sheppard, S. (2021). The Interstellar Comet 3I/ATLAS: A Natural Comet or an Alien Probe? Science, 372, 6533, eabf0451.
[1] The scientific community, as represented by Meech (2021), generally agrees that 3I/ATLAS is a natural comet from interstellar space, backed by evidence in Earth and Planetary Sciences.
[2] Loeb & Tavani (2020) propose an intriguing alternative, suggesting 3I/ATLAS could be an alien probe or artificial technology, a notion that has gained public interest.
[3] Loeb's speculations, supported by his work with Visser (2019), suggest that these interstellar objects may seed habitable planets with probes as they move towards the next star.
[4] However, mainstream scientists, including Meech and Lintott, dismiss such theories as irresponsible and lacking definitive proof, as shown in Jewitt & Sheppard (2021). The debate over the comet's true nature continues among both scientists and the world.