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Harvard astrophysicist Avi Loeb added an ‘extraordinary’ thirteenth anomaly to the ever-expanding list of bizarre non-comet-like behavior of 3I/ATLAS, the third interstellar interloper to our solar system. You can read the 12 anomalies compiled here, which speculate that the exocomet is probably not merely an icy dust object but rather a probe of extraterrestrial intelligence origin.
3I/ATLAS, which was discovered on July 01, 2025, has baffled experts and the lay alike, with academics and agencies like NASA downplaying any conspiracy theories of an alien origin. NASA’s recent release of a cache of images from its assets, including the powerful HiRISE cam didn’t quell the curious kitties on the internet. The blurry images (technically not NASA’s fault) added fuel to the drama. Meanwhile, researchers like Avi Loeb base their speculations on studying the trajectory, acceleration, and other behavior of the exocomet. And the studies portray a different portrait of 3I/ATLAS.
In his recent blog, Loeb spotted a coincidence with the interplanetary object’s path. He remarked
Let us suppose, hypothetically, that the interstellar object 3I/ATLAS is a mothership that was designed to seed Jupiter with technological devices. What would be the largest distance from Jupiter that this interstellar gardener should arrive at?
For that purpose, 3I/ATLAS must arrive within Jupiter’s radius of gravitational influence — the so-called Hill radius, inside of which Jupiter’s gravity overcomes the gravitational tide from the Sun. Interior to that radius, Jupiter’s gravity wins over the Sun’s gravity and can keep low-speed orbiters bound without the Sun ripping them away.
He further noted
The distance of closest approach of 3I/ATLAS to Jupiter is calculated by NASA’s JPL Horizons code based on orbital data gathered by about 230 observatories regarding its motion in the sky. This data includes the recently measured non-gravitational acceleration of 3I/ATLAS during perihelion, leading JPL Horizons to forecast that on March 16, 2026 3I/ATLAS will arrive at the following minimum distance from Jupiter:
He continues
the non-gravitational acceleration introduced a small course correction of exactly the magnitude needed to bring the minimum distance of 3I/ATLAS from Jupiter to the value of Jupiter’s Hill radius. 3I/ATLAS would have missed the edge of the Hill sphere otherwise.
…This suggests that the level of non-gravitational acceleration was finely tuned . If 3I/ATLAS is technological in origin, it might have fine-tuned its trajectory with the help of thrusters so as to arrive at Jupiter’s Hill radius.
Loeb further writes
Any new objects orbiting Jupiter after the passage of 3I/ATLAS, could be identified by the Juno spacecraft (as discussed here) or by other human-made orbiters around Jupiter. If we find technological satellites of Jupiter that we did not send, it would imply that Jupiter is of interest to an extraterrestrial civilization.
Earth late for the alien party? Loeb thinks so.
Not finding similar gadgets near Earth might be disappointing because it would suggest that our interstellar guest is not interested in us.
Not only that we are not at the center of the Solar system, but we are also not at the center of attention of our cosmic neighborhood. This will deliver a blow to our ego, akin to attending a party where nobody is interested in dancing with us. Perhaps this is because the human species arrived late to the party
Alien Cover: Pixabay
