Astronomers have their sights (as always) on the sky, this time because we have a new visitor, it is called 3I/ATLAS, the third interstellar object detected in history, after ʻOumuamua (2017) and 2I/Borisov (2019). But this guest brings headaches to more than one, the most recent calculations show that it is much bigger and heavier than previously thought, and that it travels much faster. We are talking about more than 33 billion tons and a diameter that exceeds 5 kilometers. We are facing a colossus compared to the previous objects that have crossed our solar system. Are we at risk?
What is 3I/ATLAS?
It was first seen months ago, it was detected crossing our solar system at exorbitant speeds. At first they thought it was a comet, but it does not behave like a comet, something does not add up. It has an unusual amount of carbon dioxide and has a very peculiar orbit, which makes it even more interesting for researchers.
The analysis of Avi Loeb
Harvard astrophysicist Avi Loeb, together with Richard Cloete and Peter Veres, reviewed the data on its trajectory and the mass loss in the form of gas and dust. Their conclusions were surprising, the nucleus is much bigger than initially calculated. According to Loeb, 3I/ATLAS could be between one thousand and one hundred thousand times more massive than the two previous interstellar objects. Yes, that is scary… To understand the magnitude of this object, the others that were seen, for example ʻOumuamua measured barely 400 meters and Borisov did not even reach one kilometer… but 3I/ATLAS exceeds 5 km in diameter!!! A real monster that looms over us.
Its trajectory that intrigues astronomers
The path of 3I/ATLAS has taken it near Jupiter, Mars and Venus, and it will soon pass just 2.68 million kilometers from the orbit of Mars, which, yes, is very close. That distance allows the astronomers of our planet (because there are no astronomers on others, for now) to observe it and follow it with qualified instruments to understand what this mass is and why it passes through our system like this. NASA’s HiRISE camera on the Mars orbiter will be the one to carry out this task.
Giant comet or something else?
Loeb always has his own hypotheses (and they are less conventional). In this case, he has suggested that if the object is even bigger than calculated, maybe it does not have a natural origin… (aliens!!) And although most of the scientific community leans toward the simplest explanation, an enormous comet, the idea that it could be something artificial or made by other beings is still there (but because we love intergalactic gossip).
It changes color!
Another curious detail is that in the latest observations, 3I/ATLAS has turned green, probably due to the release of gases like carbon dioxide or frozen water (and yes, active comets also do this), but this one is so big that it attracts more attention.
What remains to be discovered
For now, what we know is that it is a different and gigantic object, it is not something we have seen before in other objects that have crossed our path. What compounds form it? Could it come from another system? Could it carry life inside? And above all… could it collide with one of the planets in our system? Are we at risk?!!!
For now, 3I/ATLAS is not a threat to us even though it is something giant, we only want it to observe and investigate, to see if scientists are able to identify something that links it to our immense galaxy and we can learn more about it. How small we are in the abyss of the galaxy, right?! And how much we still have to discover!!