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The discussion about interstellar object 3I/ATLAS – hypothesized by some to be anything from an alien comet to a piece of alien technology – is likely to take another unexpected turn, as a new image taken after perihelion reveals that the object lacks a prominent cometary tail, something that should have been visible after its recent trip around the Sun.
Since its discovery, the true nature of 3I/ATLAS, the third known interstellar visitor to our Solar System, has been the subject of much speculation.
Despite assurances from NASA and other space agencies that 3I/ATLAS was a comet coming from another star system, many were not convinced, partly due to the object behaving in a way that challenged traditional cometary models.
Theories about 3I/ATLAS and speculation about its true nature were also promoted by Harvard astrophysicist Avi Loeb, who made several claims that it might be an advanced alien probe.
As speculation continued to grow amid high-profile media coverage, scientists had hoped to calm the discussion with images of 3I/ATLAS’s journey around the Sun.
Although this is unlikely to ease concerns, the newly released image is causing even more confusion.
What does the new 3I/ATLAS image show?
The latest image from 3I/ATLAS, taken by the Ar Neves Observatory in Spain, revealed that the object lacked a distinctive cometary tail.
If 3I/ATLAS was indeed a comet, its journey around the Sun in late October and the resulting solar heating should have triggered significant sublimation, turning ice into gas to form a huge, bright cloud or ‘tail’ of gas and dust, which is typical of comets.
If there were visual confirmation of said tail, a great deal of the speculation would probably be put to rest.
However, now, with the image appearing to lack a prominent tail, speculation about 3I/ATLAS being an alien spacecraft has again intensified.
What’s the latest buzz about 3I/ATLAS?
As soon as the image was released by the Ar Neves Observatory, Harvard astronomer Avi Loeb jumped on the comments, and questioned NASA’s earlier claims about 3I/ATLAS being a comet.
Pointing out that earlier data had shown that 3I/ATLAS was experiencing non-gravitational acceleration (that is, its motion was being affected by a force other than the Sun’s gravity), Loeb pointed out that this should have been explained by a prominent tail.
Typically, non-gravitational acceleration in celestial bodies such as comets is attributed to the ‘rocket effect’ of outgassing, in which the comet’s ice is vaporized by solar heat, and creates a jet of gas that propels the comet’s nucleus like a tiny engine.
If this was indeed the reason behind 3I/ATLAS’s non-gravitational acceleration, it should have been visible in a prominent tail, Loeb claimed, explaining that 3I/ATLAS would need to shed at least 13% of its mass in vaporized material to explain the data, which, as a result, would have a prominent, visible tail.
With that tail now apparently absent, Loeb added it to the list of ‘anomalies’ he has observed so far.
Loeb noted that 3I/ATLAS was not only very large – ‘far larger than earlier interstellar visitors such as ‘Oumuamua and Comet Borisov – but was also traveling at speeds far greater than earlier interstellar visitors.
They also noted that 3I/ATLAS’s trajectory appears to be fine-tuned to bring it close to several planets, while remaining obscured from Earth’s view during perihelion.
He also said that 3I/ATLAS’s vapor plume, rather than being composed mostly of water ice, was found to be composed of exotic materials, its nickel-to-iron ratio resembling industrial alloys more than space debris.
So, is 3I/ATLAS a comet, an alien spacecraft, or something else beyond our current understanding? the jury is still out.
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