Professor Avi Loeb, a Harvard astrophysicist, has single-handedly revived the academic pursuit of the ETs in objects that seemingly defy the conventional laws of physics. In his recent interview, Loeb stated that NASA did not provide him with the Hi-RISE pictures of 3I/ATLAS when it passed closest to the red planet—Mars. The camera is mounted on the space agency’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO). However, the professor is not dismayed, as the interstellar interloper will soon fly closest to Earth before Christmas.
In his latest Medium blog Avi Loeb quipped,
On December 19, 2025, 3I/ATLAS will arrive closest to Earth at a separation of 269 million kilometers, when hundreds of ground-based telescopes as well as the Hubble and Webb space telescopes will have the best opportunity to observe it.
He further stated
Between November 27, 2025, and January 27, 2026, 3I/ATLAS will be monitored by the International Asteroid Warning Network (IAWN) campaign (as described here). If the extensive IAWN data will not reveal a massive cloud of gas around 3I/ATLAS, then cometary evaporation would not constitute a natural explanation for its non-gravitational acceleration.
The theoretical physicist further added another litmus test to ascertain whether the comet has natural origin or devised by an extraterrestrial intelligence. He wrote
If we do not observe a massive cloud of gas around 3I/ATLAS in December, then the reported non-gravitational acceleration near perihelion might be regarded as a technological signature of a propulsion system.
What if the comet doesn’t show a large plume of gas cloud? Avi comments
Further taking a jibe at skeptics Prof Avi Loeb wrote
Scientific truth is not decided by a popularity contest but by attention to data—especially when it is anomalous.
See Also: See Also: ‘No Aliens’ NASA’s Official Response To Kim Kardashian’s Twitter Query On 3I/ATLAS Triggers Memefest
See Also: Elon Musk Spills The Beans On Aliens And 3I/ATLAS? Here’s What He Said (Watch)
Cover: Patrick Gawande / Mashable India
