Interstellar Object 3I/ATLAS substantially Larger Than Previously Estimated, New Research Suggests
WASHINGTON D.C. - A newly published analysis indicates that the interstellar object 3I/ATLAS is substantially larger and more massive than initial estimates suggested, perhaps making it an exceptionally rare visitor to our solar system. The research, based on observations from the Hubble Space Telescope, places the object at the “top of the range of current estimates” for its size.
The findings suggest 3I/ATLAS is “three to five orders of magnitude” more massive than previously detected interstellar objects ‘Oumuamua (roughly a quarter mile in length) and 2I/Borisov (0.6 miles in length).
Avi Loeb, a Harvard University astrophysicist, highlights the object’s unusual characteristics. “Given the limited reservoir of heavy elements,we should have discovered on the order of a hundred thousand interstellar objects on the 0.1-kilometer scale of 1I/’Oumuamua before finding 3I/ATLAS,yet we only detected two interstellar objects previously,” he wrote in a recent blog post.
Adding to the intrigue, 3I/ATLAS is on a trajectory that will bring it within 1.67 million miles of Mars’ orbit in just over a week, a “remarkable fine-tuning” according to Loeb. He advocates for utilizing the HiRISE camera on NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter to obtain a more detailed view of the object, potentially confirming its size and composition.
Loeb suggests that if the HiRISE camera determines the object’s core is larger than 3.1 miles, a natural origin from interstellar rocky material would become “untenable.” He poses the question: “Is 3I/ATLAS an unusually massive comet with an unusual chemical composition on an unusually rare trajectory or alien technology?”
Loeb cautions against drawing conclusions based solely on the object’s surface composition, stating, “We should not decide about the nature of 3I/ATLAS based on the chemical composition of its skin, for the same reason that we should not judge a book by its cover.”
