He came from the depths of boundless space!
Found on July 1st Astronomer from the ATLAS Observatory – an early warning system for a possible impact of an asteroid – the third known interstellar object in our solar system to date. It’s called “3I/ATLAS”.
Canadian astrophotographer Paul Craggs has now captured the sharpest image of this cosmic visitor to date. According to estimates, the core is between 320 meters and 5.6 kilometers across – the image was taken with the Dwarf 3 portable telescope worth around 500 euros.
Harvard astronomer Avi Loeb discovered an extraordinary anomaly in an interstellar object
Technological or natural?
Although 3I/ATLAS will not get closer to Earth than about 270 million kilometers, its discovery sparked great concern speculation from: Is it just an ordinary comet – or could the celestial body be a technological artifact of extraterrestrial origin?
The famous astrophysicist from Harvard initiated this debate Prof. Avi Loeb (63). He pointed to several unusual features of the object: its size, a strange “stealth trajectory” that allowed “3I/ATLAS” to remain temporarily invisible, and the most recently recorded metallic signatures in its emissions.
Astrophotographers also managed to take this photo of “3I/ATLAS”.
“Humanity will not be ready”
Loeb, who has predicted the possible extraterrestrial origin of the first interstellar object 1I/’Oumuamua, explained to BILD: “If 3I/ATLAS is not an ordinary comet, its brightness could indicate an artificial origin – for example from the reflection of light from a technological surface.” And he immediately warned: “Humanity will not be prepared for such an event!”
According to Loeb, more than a dozen anomalies have now been discovered in “3I/ATLAS” that cannot be easily explained.
NASA assumes it’s a comet
Also that one NASAScientist Tom Statler acknowledged at a press conference that “3I/ATLAS” shows “some interesting properties that are a little different from comets in our solar system.” Nevertheless, he concluded: “The evidence to date clearly shows that this object is a natural celestial body – a comet.”
