Astronomers detected the interstellar object 3I/ATLAS on July 1, 2025, using the Asteroid Terrestrial-impact Last Alert System telescope in Chile.
This marks the third confirmed interstellar visitor to our solar system, following ‘Oumuamua in 2017 and Borisov in 2019. NASA has classified it as a comet, estimating its size at 10 to 24 kilometers in diameter.
Harvard astrophysicist Avi Loeb has analyzed images showing an unusual glow at the object’s front rather than a trailing tail typical of comets.
He argues this brightness cannot result from reflected sunlight or standard outgassing of volatiles like water or carbon dioxide.
Loeb’s calculations indicate the luminosity reaches gigawatt levels, which he attributes to a possible internal power source.
Loeb has ruled out natural explanations such as a primordial black hole, which would produce negligible energy, or frictional heating from interstellar medium due to insufficient density.
He also dismisses a supernova radioactive fragment as statistically improbable. Instead, he proposes nuclear power as the most feasible compact source for the observed energy output.
In a paper co-authored with Adam Hibberd and Adam Crowl, Loeb suggests 3I/ATLAS could be an artificial spacecraft, potentially accumulating interstellar dust that emits forward under nuclear propulsion.
The object travels at approximately 210,000 kilometers per hour, the fastest recorded for a solar system visitor.
Spectral data show no cometary gases, and some observations lack a clear tail, though image smearing from motion complicates analysis.
The object’s trajectory originates from the Milky Way’s thick disk, possibly making it up to 7 billion years old, older than our solar system.
It follows a retrograde orbit aligned within 5 degrees of the ecliptic plane, passing close to Venus at 0.65 astronomical units, Mars at 0.19 AU, and Jupiter at 0.36 AU. Loeb calculates the probability of such alignments at 0.005 percent for random arrivals.
Loeb notes the perihelion on October 29, 2025, occurs opposite Earth relative to the Sun, at about 130 million miles away, potentially shielding it from detailed Earth-based observation.
He has urged NASA to redirect the Juno spacecraft or use the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter for closer imaging. If artificial, Loeb hypothesizes it might deploy probes toward Earth between November 21 and December 5, 2025.
Other astronomers, including Jason Wright from Penn State, criticize Loeb’s claims as unsubstantiated, pointing to resolved imaging techniques that confirm cometary features.
Loeb maintains his analysis is a pedagogical exercise and stresses the need for more data, proposing a risk scale from 0 for natural objects to 10 for verified technology. He advocates monitoring for anomalies like non-gravitational acceleration or artificial signals.
NASA confirms 3I/ATLAS poses no threat to Earth and will remain distant during its passage. Ground-based telescopes continue tracking its path as it accelerates outward after perihelion. Further spectroscopic studies aim to identify any volatiles or confirm its composition.
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