Interstellar Object Displays Unexpected Acceleration, Puzzling Scientists
An interstellar object, designated 3I/ATLAS, has become the focus of astronomical study after exhibiting unusual behavior since entering our solar system in July. The object, only the third confirmed interstellar visitor detected to date, is demonstrating acceleration that cannot be fully explained by gravitational forces.
NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory engineer Davide Farnocchia reports that 3I/ATLAS is displaying what is known as non-gravitational acceleration. Harvard physicist Avi Loeb suggests this phenomenon could indicate the object is an active probe or spacecraft, though he acknowledges the possibility of a natural origin.
Loeb notes that the object is highly likely losing mass, releasing ample amounts of gas adn dust. This expulsion acts as a jet, propelling 3I/ATLAS in the opposite direction. Calculations suggest the object could shed up to a tenth of its mass in a single month, a process expected to become more visible in the coming months as large clouds of gas weighing up to five billion tons are released.
Color Shift
A change in the object’s color to blue is also under inquiry. Loeb points out that typical cometary dust tends to redden light, while a blue tint could suggest the presence of a hot engine or artificial illumination – or alternatively, ionized carbon monoxide produced by natural chemical reactions within the comet’s nucleus.
Scientists emphasize that 3I/ATLAS’s trajectory does not indicate any potential approach to Earth or other planets. The object is currently receding into deep space and will be observable again in late November and late December 2025.
“Whether it’s a comet or somthing else, we’re yet to find out,” Loeb concluded. “But if we’re looking at an alien artifact, it just flew past us.”
