Manhattan-sized interstellar object 3I/ATLAS has grown a tail as it approaches the sun — which could be sign of a ‘maneuver’
New images reveal that the Manhattan-sized interstellar object 3I/ATLAS has begun to sport a tail, indicating that it could possibly be a “maneuvering” extraterrestrial craft, a Harvard scientist has suggested.
After showing signs of an incredibly strange “anti-tail” since appearing in the solar system in July, 3I/ATLAS now shows evidence of a real cometary tail, images taken by Spain’s Nordic Optical Telescope in the Canary Islands in September revealed.
These new images show material peeling off behind the 33 billion-ton object as it moves toward the sun and is hit by up to 33 gigawatts of solar radiation, Harvard astrophysicist Avi Loeb wrote in a recent paper.
However, the succession of an anti-tail and then the presence of a tail could be a sign of a “controlled maneuver” and a high-impact Black Swan event.
The 3I/ATLAS anti-tail was a plume composed primarily of carbon dioxide and water with traces of cyanide and a nickel alloy never before seen in nature that was only used in human manufacturing.
“[I]If the object is an alien spacecraft slowing down,” Loeb wrote, then the anti-tail would be evidence of a “braking thrust” maneuver that would naturally transition into a tail once the slowing down procedure was complete.
The International Asteroid Warning Network added 3I/ATLAS to its target list earlier this week and began monitoring the object for scientific purposes.
The group wrote on its website: “Although it poses no threat, Comet 3I/ATLAS presents an excellent opportunity for the IAWN community to conduct an observational exercise due to its prolonged observability from Earth and its high interest to the scientific community. »
Researchers around the world are eagerly awaiting images taken earlier this month by NASA’s HiRISE camera – the highest resolution images from 3I/ATLAS to date – aboard the Mars orbiter when the object came within 12 million miles of the Red Planet.
They have not yet been shared by the US space agency due to the current government shutdown.
3I/ATLAS will come closest to the Sun on October 29, when it will be 1.8 times farther than Earth is from the Sun.
