Interstellar Object Displays Unexpected Acceleration, Puzzling Scientists
An โinterstellar object, designated โ3I/ATLAS, has becomeโ the focus โคof astronomical study after exhibiting unusualโฃ behavior since enteringโ our solar system inโฃ July. โThe object, only the third confirmed interstellar visitor โคdetected to date, is demonstrating acceleration that โcannot be fully explained by gravitational forces.
NASA’sโข Jet โคPropulsion Laboratory engineer Davide Farnocchia โreports that 3I/ATLAS is displaying what is known asโค non-gravitational acceleration. Harvard physicist Aviโค Loeb suggests this phenomenon could indicate theโ object isโ an active probeโ or spacecraft, though he โขacknowledgesโ the possibility of a natural origin.
Loeb notes that theโข object is highly likely losing mass, releasing ample โamounts of gas adn dust. This expulsion acts as โa jet, โpropelling โข3I/ATLAS in the opposite direction. Calculations suggest the object could โคshed up to a tenth of its mass in โขa single month, a process โexpected toโ become more visible inโค the coming months as large clouds of gas weighing up to five billion tons are released.
Color Shift
A change in the object’s โคcolor to blue โฃis alsoโ under โคinquiry. Loeb โฃpoints out that typical cometary dust tendsโข to reddenโฃ light, while a blue tint could suggest the presence โคofโ a hot engine or โฃartificial illumination – or alternatively, ionized carbon monoxide produced by natural chemical reactions within the comet’s nucleus.
Scientistsโฃ emphasize that 3I/ATLAS’s trajectory does not indicate any potential approach to Earthโ or โother โplanets. The object is currently receding into deep space and will be observable againโฃ in late November โand late Decemberโข 2025.
“Whether it’s aโค comet or somthing else,โ we’re โyet โฃto find out,” Loeb โขconcluded. “But if we’re looking โขat an alien artifact, it just flew past us.”
