Interstellar comet or alien tech: Is 3I/ATLAS dropping devices close to different planets? Here’s what a Harvard astronomer says

Image credit score: ATLAS/University of Hawaii/NASA

Space is stuffed with mysteries that haven’t even been found up to now, and yearly, astronomers come throughout quite a few new objects drifting by the vastness of the universe. Be it distant exoplanets with unusual atmospheres or fast-moving asteroids that zip previous Earth with out warning, every of those comes as a shock to us.This time, a mysterious object from past our photo voltaic system, 3I/ATLAS, has ignited a brand new wave of pleasure about the potential for alien life in house. Since its discovery on July 1, 2025, the interstellar customer has intrigued astronomers with its excessive pace and strange trajectory. Some researchers consider it might be one of many oldest comets ever noticed, whereas a small group, together with Harvard astronomer Avi Loeb, from UK’s Initiative for Interstellar Studies in a preprint uploaded to arXiv on July 16, 2025. This paper has controversially advised it could possibly be a bit of extraterrestrial know-how despatched by a sophisticated civilization.

Does extra-terrestrial civilisation stay elusive?

Loeb, who additionally leads the Galileo Project, an initiative devoted to discovering indicators of alien life, described the idea as a “pedagogical exercise,” meant extra as a thought experiment than a confirmed declare. He wrote in a weblog publish that if 3I/ATLAS had been a “technological artifact,” it would help the darkish forest speculation, which suggests extraterrestrial civilizations stay silent to keep away from detection by potential threats. “The consequences, should the hypothesis turn out to be correct, could potentially be dire for humanity,” he warned.However, scientists strongly disagree. According to Darryl Seligman, an astronomer at Michigan State University, “There have been numerous telescopic observations of 3I/ATLAS suggesting that it’s displaying classical signatures of cometary activity,” as reported by Live Science. Samantha Lawler, an astronomer on the University of Regina, added that 3I/ATLAS is almost definitely “an ordinary comet that was ejected from another solar system.”

NASA has confirmed the invention of a brand new interstellar comet, 3I/ATLAS, rushing by our photo voltaic system. Spotted by a telescope in Hawaii, the thing is probably going the most important but. It will cross close to Mars in October and affords scientists a uncommon have a look at supplies from one other star system.

What units this comet aside from others of its sort?

The object, touring at over 2,10,000 km/h, seems to be a large comet with a coma or an envelope of fuel and dirt stretching as much as 24 km, in response to the International Gemini Observatory. Astronomers consider it could possibly be as a lot as 3 billion years older than our photo voltaic system.

The paper’s authors level to 3I/ATLAS’s unusual trajectory and pace, noting it entered the photo voltaic system from a distinct angle than earlier interstellar guests like ‘Oumuamua or Comet Borisov. Loeb additionally speculated that the thing may keep away from detection when closest to the Sun in October by staying hidden on the far aspect, suggesting it might be dropping off alien “gadgets” close to different planets.Despite Loeb admitting that the alien idea is a protracted shot, many specialists have criticized the hypothesis. Chris Lintott of the University of Oxford known as it “nonsense on stilts,” saying, “It’s an insult to the exciting work going on to understand this object,” as quoted by Live Science.