On July 1st, researchers discovered 3I/ATLAS. But they don’t know what it is. They know it is an interstellar object, the third detected in history, but is it an interstellar comet or something else? Questions have not been lacking. Most astronomers agree that it is a strange comet, but a new study signed by 20 of them has put on the table an idea that has sparked the imagination of many: what if it wasn’t a comet, but a camouflaged ship? Wow, like we were in Star Wars.
It is risky to think about it, yes, and surely more than one is already building a bunker with supplies for a possible intergalactic war, imagination we never lack, but let’s be realistic… We cannot rule out any hypothesis, especially when these objects hide technological signals like this!
What we know about 3I/ATLAS
For now, it is the third object of this type observed directly, after 1I/‘Oumuamua in 2017 and 2I/Borisov in 2019. We also know that it moves at high speed, has a reddish glow and its trajectory shows small variations that have raised doubts among scientists.
The international team that published the study admits that the most likely scenario is that we are facing a comet, but that doesn’t make headlines so they also maintain that there are arguments to monitor it as a possible candidate in the search for alien technosignatures!
Why some believe it could be technology
Astronomer Avi Loeb, from Harvard, suggested that the changes in the acceleration of 3I/ATLAS could match with a controlled movement, as if it were a ship and someone (or something) was piloting it. Other researchers speculate that some extraterrestrial probes could “travel hidden” inside comets or asteroids, using these bodies as a natural means of transport through space.
And the signals that are taken into account to look for technological indications are anomalous trajectories, some spectra or colors that are not “normal,” unnatural shapes or even radio or laser emissions that could launch some type of communication.
And of course, here it is inevitable to wonder why they think that, right? Very simple, humanity itself has sent spacecraft on interstellar trajectories with that kind of technology, looking for life out there!
Inevitable comparisons
The case of 3I/ATLAS recalls that of ‘Oumuamua, which surprised by its strange trajectory and the absence of a cometary tail, which led some to suggest that it could be an artificial light sail. In contrast, Borisov was much easier to classify because it behaved like a classic comet. Today, 3I/ATLAS seems closer to Borisov than to ‘Oumuamua, although it continues to generate many questions.
Why it is worth studying
Doesn’t it seem like a small thing that we could be facing extraterrestrial technology? Any anomaly that exists or appears in outer space is worthy of study, especially because we know very little about our universe and the system we are in, it is all a mystery, and many argue that it is impossible that we are alone. By observing and studying 3I/ATLAS, scientists will be able to distinguish between natural phenomena and possible signals of another kind.
With the upcoming launch of the LSST telescope at the Rubin Observatory, it is expected to find between six and fifty more interstellar objects in the next decade. That will give science new opportunities to study these visitors and perhaps solve some of the mysteries they raise.
An open mystery
For now, everything points to 3I/ATLAS being a comet, although with details that make it different. But it cannot be completely ruled out that there is something more behind it.
In such a large universe, every object that crosses our path can be a clue about our place in the cosmos or about what is out there…!