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3I/ATLAS Not Just Another Comet’: Harvard’s Avi Loeb Explains What NASA May
| Mainlining the $ecret Truth of the Univer$e | 11/29/25 |
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Date: November 29th, 2025 3:27 AM Author: Mainlining the $ecret Truth of the Univer$e (One Year Performance 1978-1979 (Cage Piece) (Awfully coy u are)) 3I/ATLAS Not Just Another Comet’: Harvard’s Avi Loeb Explains What NASA May Be Missing As Mystery Deepens
When the interstellar object 3I/ATLAS swung around the Sun on October 29 this year, it was hidden from all Earth-based telescopes. By the time it re-emerged, something unusual had happened.
Its movement wasn’t exactly following gravity alone.
Harvard astrophysicist Dr Avi Loeb, known for examining oddities in interstellar objects, has been tracking 3I/ATLAS closely. Over the past few weeks he has published multiple analyses pointing to a cluster of anomalies (each still under debate but collectively intriguing enough to draw global attention).
In an exclusive exchange with ABP Live, Dr Avi Loeb explains what he is watching for, why this object is unusual, and how upcoming data from NASA and ESA could settle the controversy.
Why scientists are paying attentionAccording to Dr Loeb, 3I/ATLAS shows a series of anomalies (13 in total) which he has ranked by how unlikely they are if the object is a regular comet. The most striking involves its projected encounter with Jupiter on March 16, 2026.
In his latest Medium post, Loeb points out that early calculations showed the object's forecasted distance from Jupiter matching Jupiter’s Hill radius almost exactly, a boundary where Jupiter’s gravity dominates. What are the odds of such a match happening by chance? “Smaller than 0.00004!” Dr Loeb replies.
NASA later updated its model, revising the non-gravitational acceleration downward, nudging the prediction slightly away from the Hill radius. But Loeb argues this new model may not account for how sharply the object brightened near the Sun. If that steep profile is correct, he believes the projection may shift back toward that unusual coincidence.
Why does that matter? Because if the match persists, Loeb says it could hint at a “technological signature”. What does that mean? Dr Loeb explains that a tech signature means a clear sign that something not natural but engineered is either pushing or guiding the object subtly and by design.
He stops short of saying it is artificial, but stresses that the orbit is rare enough to warrant close scientific scrutiny. “The bottom line of my work is that if 3I/ATLAS is a comet, then the diameter of its nucleus must be smaller than a kilometre in order for the mass flux of its population to stay within acceptable bounds. However, if its unusually high brightness stems from a solid surface that is 10–20 kilometres in diameter, we should be worried about it possibly representing alien technology,” Dr Loeb says.
Exclusive: Dr Avi Loeb speaks to ABP Live
ABP Live: You’ve suggested that some interstellar objects, like ʻOumuamua’ earlier, showed behaviour that didn’t fully match natural comets. What unusual signs would make you pay special attention to 3I/ATLAS?
Dr Avi Loeb: I’m watching for anything in 3I/ATLAS that doesn’t match what normal comets do, especially unusual acceleration, unexpected brightening, or jets that behave differently from standard ice-driven activity. If the motion, the brightness pattern, or the direction and strength of its jets don’t follow known natural processes that would immediately get my attention. The key question is whether the non-gravitational acceleration and other observed features match natural comet behaviour or not.
ABP Live: NASA and ESA have urged caution, saying “spinning” videos from amateurs are unverified. Do you feel space agencies sometimes hold back too much?
Dr Avi Loeb: “No, I do not think that NASA or ESA hold back information. But they do push the narrative that 3I/ATLAS is a familiar comet from a different environment.”(While Dr Loeb does not accuse the agencies of withholding information, he does hint that their interpretation leans towards the familiar, while he believes the data should remain open to all possibilities.)
ABP Live: You’ve spoken about fragile objects and interstellar travel. Do the early clues make ATLAS stand out?
Dr Avi Loeb: My comments about fragility only applied to hydrogen icebergs proposed for explaining ‘1i/Oumuamua’. The nucleus of 3I/ATLAS is roughly a million times more massive than 1I/Oumuamua and a thousand times more massive than 2I/Borisov, while moving faster than both. There is not enough rocky material in interstellar space to deliver a rock of this mass once per decade to the inner solar system. This suggests that 3I/ATLAS may have targeted the inner solar system rather than was drawn at random from the reservoir of interstellar rocks.ABP Live: When NASA and ESA release sharper images soon, what will you be looking for first to tell whether ATLAS is just a standard icy visitor… or something stranger? Dr Avi Loeb: After its passage closest to the Sun on October 29, 3I/ATLAS displayed many jets (including an anti-tail towards the Sun). I would like to understand the nature and origin of these jets. Their speed and composition can distinguish between evaporation of pockets of ice on a rock as a result of heating by sunlight and technological thrusters.ABP Live: Right now, online images are creating excitement even before official data arrives. Do you think public curiosity helps scientific discovery, or does it create noise that makes the real work harder? Dr Avi Loeb: Evidence-based science is our best guide for a better future. The foundation of science is the humility to learn, not the arrogance of expertise. It is wonderful to see the public inspired by science. I received dozens of emails from parents who tell me that, after hearing me speak about 3I/ATLAS on television or podcasts in recent days, they now want to become scientists.
ABP Live: If ATLAS ultimately shows no unusual acceleration or odd reflectivity, would that challenge your broader view that some interstellar objects could be technological, or would it simply mean this one is ordinary?Dr Avi Loeb: If upcoming data shows no unusual acceleration, jets, chemistry or strange behaviour, then 3I/ATLAS would simply be a natural comet, but only if all 13 anomalies can be convincingly explained by known physics. These include its rare chemical mix, unusual jets, strange brightness pattern, and especially the extremely unlikely match between its predicted path and Jupiter’s Hill radius. If each of these can be shown to have natural causes, then ATLAS is ordinary. If even a few remain unexplained, that’s when we must consider more unconventional possibilities.ABP Live: Some amateur astronomers, including Ray’s Astrophotography, have shared images showing shifting shapes and ring-like patterns. Do such visuals deserve early scientific attention, or are they simply common camera artefacts unless proven otherwise? Dr Avi Loeb: Yes, it is remarkable that amateur astronomers or astrophotographers use telescopes that cost a few thousand dollars to generate more informative images than NASA's billion dollar telescopes.In several recent essays, I’ve pointed out that science progresses by examining all available data, not by dismissing observations simply because they come from the public. If an image shows a repeating or unusual pattern, it deserves to be checked scientifically, not waved away as ‘artefacts’ before proper analysis.
NASA and other agencies tend to be cautious, but caution should not mean ignoring potential clues. Independent observations from citizens have historically helped discover comets, supernovae and near-Earth objects. With 3I/ATLAS, every source of data, professional or amateur, can help us understand whether we’re looking at an ordinary comet or something more intriguing.”(Dr Avi Loeb advocates examining all data, including unverified images, open scientific debate instead of dismissal and prejudice.)
So what exactly are the anomalies of 3I/ATLAS?
Here are the ones Dr Loeb highlights most often, put forth minus the scientific jargon, explained in everyday terminology:
Major anomalies (least likely to be natural):
An orbit that nearly hits Jupiter’s Hill radius, a statistically tiny chance (0.00004). Timing that brings it close to Mars, Venus, and Jupiter in one sweep. A mass a million times larger than ‘Oumuamua, yet moving even faster. A sustained sunward jet, incredibly rare for comets. Unusual chemistry in its gas plume, including industrial-like nickel ratios. A retrograde path aligned unusually close to the planetary plane. Medium anomalies:
Arriving from almost the same direction as the historic “Wow!” signal. Extremely unusual polarization patterns (never seen in other comets). Minor anomalies:
Very low water content. Unusually blue and rapidly brightening near perihelion. Jets stronger and more stable than expected from sunlight alone. Non-gravitational acceleration without any sign of breakup. Loeb repeatedly clarifies: each of these could have natural explanations. What he finds interesting is how many are happening at once.
What happens next?
The decisive moment will come as 3I/ATLAS heads toward Jupiter in March 2026.
NASA’s JPL Horizons database will update its trajectory continuously. Meanwhile, spacecraft near Jupiter, including Juno and Juice, may capture additional astrometric data precise enough to settle whether the object’s path lines up with Jupiter’s Hill radius or not.
If it does, Loeb says, it would rank as “the most remarkable anomaly of 3I/ATLAS so far.”
Until then, he emphasises that science is “always work in progress”.
Why this matters:
3I/ATLAS is only the third known interstellar object ever spotted in our Solar System.
Most will likely be ordinary rocks or icy bodies drifting between stars.
But as Dr Loeb puts it: “To understand the unfamiliar, we must be willing to look.”
Loeb openly invites scrutiny and opposing data, stressing that insufficient observations, not being wrong, is what worries him. "If even one interstellar visitor turns out to be engineered," he says, "it could reshape humanity’s future, and therefore the world needs an alert system and a unified response plan for potentially non-natural objects entering our neighbourhood."Whether ATLAS turns out to be a strange comet, a statistical oddity, or something more exotic, the scientific world is watching, and March 2026 may bring the first real answers. |