Astronomers are buzzing about the appearance of a strange interstellar object called 3I/ATLAS, discovered on July 1 by the NASA-funded ATLAS robotic telescope.
According to Harvard University theoretical physics professor Avi Loeb, the unusual characteristics of this object suggest that it is not a natural celestial body, but could be a technological product of an extraterrestrial civilization.
Strange orbit and unusual size
3I/ATLAS is hurtling toward the Solar System at more than 217,000 km/h, originating from the constellation Sagittarius. Its hyperbolic orbit suggests it is an object from outside the Solar System, similar to two previously recorded interstellar objects: Oumuamua (2017) and Borisov (2019).
However, 3I/ATLAS is unusually bright despite being about 490 million kilometers from Earth. Based on the amount of light it reflects, scientists estimate its diameter to be up to 20 kilometers - 100-200 times larger than the estimated length of Oumuamua and 50-100 times larger than the core of Comet Borisov.
If both are rocky objects, the mass of 3I/ATLAS far exceeds that of its two predecessors, even more than 10 million times that of Oumuamua.
Not like a meteor or a comet
Professor Avi Loeb believes that the probability of detecting an asteroid this large within the current observation range is extremely low - only about 0.0001. For comparison, the meteorite that caused the extinction of the dinosaurs 66 million years ago was only half this size.
The simplest explanation is that 3I/ATLAS is a comet. However, current research shows that it does not have the usual trail of gas or dust that surrounds cometary nuclei.
It’s possible we’re missing features of the tail because of the object’s great distance from Earth. If 3I/ATLAS is a comet, it should get brighter as it gets closer to the Sun and its surface warms up.
Incoming data from advanced telescopes, including the Vera C. Rubin Observatory and the James Webb Space Telescope, are expected to provide more precise measurements of the object in the coming months.
However, if future data shows no cometary tail, we will be faced with the intriguing possibility that this is a product of technological design and was sent to the Solar System by an unknown civilization.
According to Professor Loeb, we need to be patient and open-minded, ready to accept whatever mysteries 3I/ATLAS may reveal.
No threat to the Earth
Scientists say 3I/ATLAS poses no danger. The object will pass closest to the Sun on October 30, about 240 million kilometers from Earth at that time.
This phenomenon is attracting the attention of not only scientists but also amateur astronomers around the world , including observer Tony Dunn - the first person to share 3I/ATLAS's orbital data on social networks.
This is the third time humanity has recorded an interstellar object passing through the Solar System, but it is also the first time a hypothesis about the possibility of an "alien spacecraft" has been seriously mentioned in the scientific community./.
Source: https://www.vietnamplus.vn/giao-su-havard-dat-gia-thuyet-khach-la-3iatlas-la-tau-vu-tru-ngoai-hanh-tinh-post1050965.vnp
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