‘Hostile’ alien spacecraft headed for earth? Scientists sound alarm over mystery object 3I/ATLAS

Scientists have raised intriguing questions about the interstellar object known as 3I/ATLAS, discovered on July 1 and traveling toward the Sun at an astonishing speed of 130,000 mph.

A comet roughly 15 meters in diameter which is larger than Manhattan, has sparked debate over its true nature

researchers are considering it natural celestial body, but there is a small group of scientists who propose a more extraordinary possibility: that 3I/ATLAS might be advanced alien technology.

Avi Loeb, a Harvard astrophysicist, who is known for his unconventional views linking extraterrestrial life to interstellar objects is among the ones who propose this theory.

Adam Hibberd and Adam Crowl, from the Initiative for Interstellar Studies in London, have argued that 3I/ATLAS’s unusual trajectory and speed is significantly faster than ʻOumuamua and arriving from a different angle and this could offer "various benefits to an extraterrestrial intelligence," as Loeb wrote in a recent blog post.

The reseacher have also highlighted that 3I/ATLAS will make close passes by Mars, Jupiter, and Venus, possibly providing opportunities for alien surveillance devices to be discreetly placed on these planets.

As the object approaches its closest point to the Sun, or perihelion, in late November, it will be hidden from Earth-based observation.

"This could be intentional to avoid detailed observations from Earth-based telescopes when the object is brightest or when gadgets are sent to Earth from that hidden vantage point," Loeb suggested.

If 3I/ATLAS does turn out to be a “technological artifact,” it could lend support to the “dark forest hypothesis,” which posits that extraterrestrial civilizations remain hidden to avoid detection by potential predators.

However, Loeb acknowledges the practical limitations of investigating 3I/ATLAS firsthand. Its speed far exceeds that of any current Earth-launched spacecraft, making interception before it leaves the solar system unrealistic: "It is therefore impractical for earthlings to land on 3I/ATLAS at closest approach by boarding chemical rockets, since our best rockets reach at most a third of that speed," he explained.

Despite these natural features, the question of whether 3I/ATLAS might be something more than a simple comet continues to fascinate scientists, keeping the door open to the possibility of alien origins as researchers eagerly await further data.