Astronomers regard 3I/ATLAS as almost certainly an interstellar comet, but observational uncertainties leave room for debate. Famed Harvard astronomer Avi Loeb proposes that 3I/ATLAS could be an extraterrestrial artifact or an 'alien mothership' and rates it a four on his one-to-ten technosignature likelihood scale. Loeb argues that a non-negligible probability justifies monitoring and preparedness, using a 40 percent accident analogy to emphasize vigilance. Loeb previously suggested that 'Oumuamua might have been an alien probe propelled by a solar sail. Observers confirmed in early July that 3I/ATLAS originated from interstellar space, following 2I/Borisov.
Astronomers believe that our solar system's latest and only third ever confirmed interstellar visitor, 3I/ATLAS, is almost certainly a comet. But lingering questions about the object means it's not yet an open and shut case. Amid that uncertainty, famed Harvard astronomer Avi Loeb is pushing the possibility that the interstellar interloper is an "extraterrestrial artifact" - perhaps even an "alien mothership" - here to menace or observe us. Which, though it sounds scary, could be interpreted as a good thing.
Loeb acknowledges that the odds aren't in his favor - but only slightly. Presently, on his detailed scale of one to ten for classifying the likelihood of interstellar objects representing a piece of alien technology, he gives 3I/Atlas a "four" - an "anomaly meeting potential technosignature criteria." "Having a 40 percent chance for an accident while crossing the street, argues in favor of keeping our eyes open and monitoring an approaching car," he argues in the post.
He has long argued that 'Oumuamua, the first detected interstellar object in history, may have actually been an alien probe . The nearly quarter-mile object's unusual acceleration could have been a sign that it was being propelled with a solar sail, he argued. In early July, astronomers confirmed that 3I/ATLAS, named after the telescope in Chile which first spotted it, came from interstellar space, making it the third detection ever of such an object.
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