Thursday, July 24, 2025

Is 3I/ATLAS 'Comet' an Alien Probe?

On July 1, astronomers spotted an unusual high-speed object zooming towards the Sun.

Posted by LampLighter at 05:33 PM | 13 COMMENTS | permalink

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Interstellar Visitor Zipping Through Our Solar System Could Be a Hostile Probe, Alien-Hyping Scientists Warn https://gizmodo.com/interstellar-visitor-zipping-through-our-solar-system-could-be-a-hostile-probe-alien-hyping-scientists-warn-2000633205

[image or embed]

-- Gizmodo (@gizmodo.com) Jul 24, 2025 at 12:26 PM

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More from the article ...

... 3I/ATLAS breaking records

3I/ATLAS appeared to be travelling at 245,000 kilometres per hour, making it the fastest object ever detected in our Solar System.

It was also huge. Early estimates suggest the object could be up to 20 km in size. Finally, scientists believe it may even be older than our Sun.

Could it be alien?

Our first assumption when we see something in space is that it's a lump of rock or ice. But the strange properties of 3I/ATLAS have suggested to some that it may be something else entirely.

Harvard astrophysics professor Avi Loeb and colleagues last week uploaded a paper titled Is the Interstellar Object 3I/ATLAS Alien Technology? to the arXiv preprint server. (The paper has not yet been peer reviewed.)

Loeb is a controversial figure among astronomers and astrophysicists. He has previously suggested that the first known interstellar object, 1I/Oumuamua, discovered in 2017, may also have been an alien craft.

Among other oddities Loeb suggests may be signs of deliberate alien origin, he notes the orbit of 3I/ATLAS takes it improbably close to Venus, Mars, and Jupiter. ...



#1 | Posted by LampLighter at 2025-07-23 08:23 PM

Fun stuff to watch ...

#2 | Posted by LampLighter at 2025-07-23 08:23 PM

What does Venus, Mars, and Jupiter got that we don't!?

#3 | Posted by rstybeach11 at 2025-07-24 07:07 PM

No humans...that's a pretty significant advantage :)

#4 | Posted by billy_boy at 2025-07-24 08:15 PM

Odd that the headline on the article uses 'hostile'. Why that assumption?

#5 | Posted by MBlue at 2025-07-25 08:59 AM

Re 5

It's just sensational reporting to grab your attention. Click bait.

But don't be fooled by our little garden of Eden.

It's a speck of dust in a hostile universe.

If this thing hits anything I guarantee it will be in a hostile manner. It won't be a gentle loving touch or a warm gentle hug. As far as we know (so far) it's not going to hit anything. But there is a lot of stuff out that could change it's trajectory. Most likely tho it will just zoom past us like the thousands of objects do on a regular basis.

#6 | Posted by donnerboy at 2025-07-25 10:49 AM

What is cool is that it's interstellar.

That does not happen too often and is worth noting. As is its tremendous speed.

#7 | Posted by donnerboy at 2025-07-25 10:52 AM

@#4 ... Odd that the headline on the article uses 'hostile'. Why that assumption? ...

It was a paraphrase by those asked about the comet, as it states.

The longer-than-50-character title of the article cited in the summary is:

Is 3I/ATLAS 'Comet' an Alien Probe? These Are The Signs to Look For.

#8 | Posted by LampLighter at 2025-07-25 12:03 PM

@#7

Agreed.

#9 | Posted by LampLighter at 2025-07-25 12:04 PM

Any guesses why 3IA has a sun-ward-facing tail and it doesn't register chemically as a comet?

#10 | Posted by redlightrobot at 2025-07-25 04:42 PM

Odd that the headline on the article uses 'hostile'. Why that assumption?
#5 | Posted by MBlue

I had to give this one some thought.
It's probably implicit bias left over from America's "Big Bang" of Colonialism.
If some superior race found our planet, and treated us like Colonists treated the Indians, it would be extremely bad for us.

A simpler explanation is, all things being equal, fearmongering is a pretty easy trope for journalists to fall into.

#11 | Posted by snoofy at 2025-07-25 05:13 PM

@#11 ... I had to give this one some thought.
It's probably implicit bias left over from America's "Big Bang" of Colonialism. ...

Well, as the article notes, the comment is from "alien-hyping" scientists, maybe those same scientists who ask, ~why should be presume alien life would be friendly towards Earth?

Reminds me of the TV sci-fi show of nearly three decades ago ...

Earth: Final Conflict
en.wikipedia.org

... Early in the 21st century, a race of aliens, the Taelons (often referred to as "the Companions"), travel to Earth and take up residence in limited numbers. The Taelons possess highly advanced technologies, many of which they share with humanity, seemingly out of generosity and good will.

As a result of these advances, disease, war and pollution are nearly eliminated within three years of their arrival.

Despite this, some question whether the Taelons' motives are as benevolent as they appear, and a resistance movement forms to halt the Taelons' ever-growing influence on humanity. ...


#12 | Posted by LampLighter at 2025-07-25 06:11 PM

They couldn't believe we put Trump back in office and had to come see for themselves.

#13 | Posted by horstngraben at 2025-07-25 09:20 PM

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