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(NewsNation) — The Harvard prof raising questions astir the 3I/ATLAS comet passing done our star strategy says the hurtling entity is giving disconnected chemic signals that bash not look to beryllium natural.
Theoretical physicist Avi Loeb says the Keck II scope successful Hawaii precocious collected information that indicates 3I/ATLAS is emitting nickel but little, if any, iron, a diagnostic “we lone find successful industrially produced nickel alloys.” Such a compound is utilized successful metallic coatings to fortify surfaces, the New York Post notes successful its ain interrogation with the astrophysicist.
Loeb has go a acquainted fig successful quality sum astir 3I/ATLAS due to the fact that of his startling mentation that the comet could beryllium immoderate signifier of alien tech. For months, helium has been highlighting the object’s deficiency of a accepted comet’s tail, its funny trajectory done our Milky Way and its unusually ample size (at slightest 3.5 miles successful diameter).
“It’s astatine slightest a 1000 times much monolithic than the erstwhile interstellar objects we’ve seen,” Loeb told “Elizabeth Vargas Reports” connected Wednesday. “And the question is wherefore is specified a elephantine entity delivered to our interior star system, erstwhile we saw lone tiny ones before?”
3I/ATLAS could beryllium 'black swan event': Avi Loeb
NASA's Hubble Space Telescope captured this representation of interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS connected July 21, 2025, erstwhile the comet was 277 cardinal miles from Earth. (NASA)He argues that the planetary assemblage should get connected the aforesaid leafage astir what to bash if extraterrestrials oregon their drones travel into proximity with Earth.
“We should support our eyes unfastened and not presume thing due to the fact that it could beryllium a ‘black swan event,’ wherever thing that looks earthy astatine archetypal ends up being similar a Trojan Horse,” Loeb says. “Because the implications are truthful immense for humanity, we indispensable see it seriously.”
3I/Atlas is expected to vanish down the prima precocious this period and walk Jupiter aboriginal adjacent twelvemonth earlier leaving our galaxy, according to NASA, which considers the entity a comet that poses nary danger.
Loeb, connected the different hand, likens the entity to an interstellar "blind date."
"You often presume that the dating spouse would beryllium precise friendly, but you person to interest astir serial killers, arsenic well," helium said.
Why is comet called '3I/ATLAS'?
The sanction 3I/ATLAS derives from the information that it’s the 3rd known interstellar entity to participate our star system; it was discovered by the Asteroid Terrestrial-impact Last Alert System.
Loeb said Oct. 2 images taken by NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter should output the clearest pictures yet of 3I/Atlas, but they person not been released.
