A Massive Interstellar Object May Now Be An Alien Probe, Says Physicist

On August 11, 2025, Harvard astrophysicist Avi Loeb sparked global intrigue by proposing that the interstellar object 3I/ATLAS, discovered on July 1, 2025, by NASA’s ATLAS telescope in Chile, may be an alien probe sent on a reconnaissance mission.

In an interview with Fox News Digital, reported by Fox News, Loeb highlighted the object’s unusual trajectory, size, and lack of typical cometary features as evidence suggesting it could be a product of extraterrestrial technology.

The claim, while controversial, has reignited debates within the scientific community about the origins of interstellar objects, drawing fascination.

What’s intriguing about this story is that 3I/ATLAS shows unusual characteristics.

Detected by the Asteroid Terrestrial-impact Last Alert System (ATLAS) in Rio Hurtado, Chile, 3I/ATLAS is only the third confirmed interstellar object to enter our solar system, following ‘Oumuamua in 2017 and 2I/Borisov in 2019.

Loeb, a professor at Harvard University and former chair of its astronomy department, told Fox News Digital that the object’s retrograde orbit, which aligns within 5 degrees of Earth’s orbital plane, is statistically rare, with a likelihood of just 0.2 percent.

“Maybe the trajectory was designed,” Loeb said, noting its close passes by Venus, Mars, and Jupiter—scheduled for this fall with a probability of 0.005 percent if random.

The object, estimated at 7 to 12 miles in diameter, is significantly larger than typical interstellar asteroids, further fueling speculation.

Loeb also pointed out that 3I/ATLAS lacks a cometary coma, the gas and dust cloud typical of comets, and shows no spectral signatures of carbon-based molecules, as reported by Newsweek.

Its closest approach to the Sun on October 29, 2025, when it will be hidden from Earth’s view, raises suspicions for Loeb, who suggested this could be an intentional move to evade observation.

“If it had an objective to sort of be on a reconnaissance mission, it would come in the orbital plane of the planets,” he told Fox News Digital, framing the object’s path as potentially deliberate.

Even media personality Joe Rogan has taken interest, reiterating that the object should come to earth by the year 2027.

Skepticism from the Scientific Community

Loeb’s hypothesis, co-authored with researchers Adam Hibberd and Adam Crowl from the Initiative for Interstellar Studies in a yet-to-be-peer-reviewed paper on arXiv, has met resistance.

Richard Moissl, head of planetary defense at the European Space Agency, told Newsweek that observations show no signs of non-natural origins, describing 3I/ATLAS as a “space-weathered natural object with, so far, weak cometary activity.”

Karen Meech, a planetary astronomer at the University of Hawaii, dismissed Loeb’s claims as “irresponsible science,” arguing to Reuters that the object’s trajectory has a “perfectly natural explanation” as a comet.

Despite the skepticism, Loeb insists that dismissing the possibility of alien technology without further data is premature, emphasizing the need for open-minded inquiry.

The paper invokes the “dark forest hypothesis,” a concept from Cixin Liu’s novel suggesting that alien civilizations might be hostile and silent to avoid conflict.

Loeb warned that if 3I/ATLAS is artificial, its implications could be “dire for humanity,” potentially requiring defensive measures, though he acknowledged such efforts might be futile.

The object poses no immediate threat, as it will pass 2.4 astronomical units (223 million miles) from Earth on December 17, 2025, traveling at over 41 miles per second, per the Daily Mail.

While conservative scientists will primarily take on a skeptical view, those with a much more open mind can help the public prepare for new discoveries.

Loeb’s History of Controversial Claims

This is not Loeb’s first foray into extraterrestrial hypotheses.

In 2021, he published Extraterrestrial: The First Sign of Intelligent Life Beyond Earth, arguing that ‘Oumuamua, a pancake-shaped interstellar object, could be alien technology due to its non-gravitational acceleration and unusual shape, as reported by NBC News.

In 2023, Loeb led a $1.5 million expedition off Papua New Guinea, recovering 50 tiny spherules he claimed might be fragments of an alien spacecraft, though testing continues at Harvard, per The Independent.

His Galileo Project, which seeks evidence of UFOs and interstellar objects, has made him a polarizing figure, with critics like Meech labeling his work “sensationalist,” while supporters commend his willingness to challenge scientific orthodoxy.

Public reactions on X reflect the divide.

Users like @UAPWatchers and @UAPReportingCnt amplified Loeb’s claims, citing the object’s “too perfectly timed” trajectory and non-gravitational acceleration as evidence of intelligent control, though a community note on @HustleBitch_’s post clarified that the authors lean toward a natural origin.

Conversely, skeptics on X, such as @barstoolsports, sensationalized the “hostile” alien narrative, while others urged caution pending more data.

Loeb’s hypothesis, while speculative, underscores the importance of studying interstellar objects.

The Vera C. Rubin Observatory in Chile, set to launch soon, is expected to detect more such visitors, potentially providing data to resolve these debates, per Reuters.

Loeb argues that dismissing the possibility of alien technology risks missing a groundbreaking discovery, stating, “We better be ready for both options and check whether all interstellar objects are rocks.”

As 3I/ATLAS approaches, astronomers worldwide are collecting data to clarify its nature, with results expected to shape future protocols for interstellar analysis.

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