A newly discovered interstellar comet, designated 3I/ATLAS, has sparked significant interest and debate within the scientific community due to its mysterious origin and extraordinary speed. Confirmed in July as the third known object to enter our solar system from beyond, 3I/ATLAS was first detected by a telescope in Chile, part of NASA’s ATLAS project.

Measuring over 12 miles wide and traveling at an astonishing 37 miles per second relative to the Sun, the comet is expected to pass within approximately 130 million miles of Earth on October 30, 2025. Initial observations identified the object as an asteroid, but subsequent studies confirmed its nature as a comet of interstellar origin.

While most astronomers consider 3I/ATLAS to be a natural icy comet, a provocative new hypothesis has been put forward by Harvard University astrophysicist Avi Loeb, co-author of a recently uploaded paper on the preprint server arXiv. Loeb suggests that the comet’s unusual speed and trajectory may indicate that it is not a natural object but rather a form of alien technology.

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Loeb, who leads the Galileo Project — an initiative dedicated to the scientific search for extraterrestrial artifacts — describes the paper as a theoretical “pedagogical exercise” aimed at stimulating scientific curiosity rather than confirming the presence of extraterrestrials. The paper has not yet undergone peer review.

The majority of the scientific community remains skeptical, viewing 3I/ATLAS as a conventional comet. However, Loeb’s theory encourages an open-minded approach to the study of interstellar objects, promoting further exploration and discussion regarding the possibility of extraterrestrial technology.

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