Is it possible that a visitor of the interstellar space is hiding some sophisticated engineering behind the veil of a comet? As 3I/ATLAS swings around the Earth in a distance that is just a bit less than the Earth-Sun distance, Harvard astrophysicist Avi Loeb is defying the current view that it is just a comet. His argument is based on an accumulating list of anomalies – now fourteen – which he believes to be inconsistent with conventional cometary physics, and which he believes may indicate technological design.
1. Contested Non-Gravitational Acceleration.
A more recent experiment (coordinated by Thomas Marshall Eubanks) determined the non-gravitational acceleration of 3I/ATLAS on the basis of long-baseline measurements of NASA’s Psyche spacecraft and ESA Mars Trace Gas Orbiter. The crew decided that this acceleration was normal of normal comets, caused by the outgassing jets of gas and dust. Loeb counters this by saying that this is a superficial correlation by saying that it is like viewing a cloud of dust in the desert and assuming that it is an animal when it might be a car. He emphasizes that the analysis does not give an explanation of such anomalies like the strange path of the object and the tail that is facing in the direction of the sun.
2. Nickel (without Iron) Industrially.
Nickel vapor was observed in the plume of 3I/ATLAS by Spectroscopic data of the Very Large Telescope but it did not contain iron, a combination of the elements never observed in natural comets before. Nickel and iron are commonly co-produced in the ejection of a supernova, although the isolated nickel signature corresponds to industrial refining through the nickel carbonyl process. The rate of mass loss of nickel increased sharply with the heliocentric distance, with a steep power-law index, indicating a regulated release process.
3. Unusual Coma Chemistry
Both SPHEREx observations and the Webb Space Telescope have observed plume compositions with 95% CO 2 and 5% H 2 O, which is a clear contrast to the water-rich comet models. No trailing tail in Hubble pictures showing a dense coma is contrary to what solar radiation pressure causes the dust to do. Loeb adds that in the case that a bulk of the sunlight is reflected by the nucleus as opposed to the coma, the mass of an object would be a million times higher than in 2I/Borisov, which is statistically implausible as a random object in space.
4. Accurate Sunward Anti-Tail.
Spanish astronomers observed that there was a tight collimation of an anti-tail angled within eight degrees of the rotation axis poles which retained the same orientation before and after perihelion. This geometry means that the switching between dayside and nightside is constant and the chances of it happening out of chance are only 0.5 percent. After the period of perihelion, a second anti-tail was observed at the other pole which increased the improbability to 0.000025. Loeb theorises that this exact precision might have come as a result of an intentional Sun-facing jet-like shield to eliminate solar wind and radiation.
5. Collimation of Natural Limits.
Solar wind and radiation pressure cause the anti-tail to collimate to a half-million kilometers at an angle of less than eight degrees, which is more than that of the earth-moon distance. The dispersal of natural comet jets is generally fast; control by artificial manipulation of the speed of ejection and the size of the particles would be required, similar to the use of thruster plumes on spacecraft.
6. Periodic Modulation of the Heartbeat.
Variations in brightness in the coma recur after every 16.16 hours, which is equivalent to a rotation period found by wobble of the jet. Loeb postulates that less than 10 percent of the light is emitted by the nucleus so the periodicity must be due to pulsed jets- perhaps, jets of thrust to correct the trajectory. This cosmic cadence may be used as an operational cycle of the systems of a spacecraft.
7. Purposeful Planetary Visions.
The retrograde orbit of 3I/ATLAS fits inside a five degrees range of the ecliptic plane, which allows it to come close to Mars, Venus and Jupiter. It is unlikely to occur in such timing 0.0005%. Loeb theorizes that this geometry may be used by a technological craft to push probes in this direction towards these planets.
8. Parallels in Solar Shielding: Engineering.
Satellites like the Solar Orbiter by ESA withstand solar bursts of extreme high temperatures with multi-layered heat shields which dissipate any absorbed energy perpendicularly, leaving internal components in the shade. An analogous role might be played by the Sun-facing jet-like shield suggested by Loeb as a part of 3I/ATLAS, which would be able to deflect potentially dangerous particles but would have to keep its orientation at close angular tolerances.
9. Space-Based Sunshade Analogues.
In future geoengineering designs, space-based solar reflectors are considered at the L1 Lagrange point to adjust the climate of the earth. The designs have difficulties with keeping in exact position, and from solar wind dispersion- problems apparently solved with the anti-tail behaviour of 3I/ATLAS should it be technological.
10. Astrometric Mass and Acceleration Constraints.
Expected rates of dust ejection and speeds give anticipated acceleration of comets that are significantly lower than the acceleration of 1I/‘Oumuamua, which has to produce unexplained acceleration despite there being no visible outgassing. Should the acceleration as measured by 3I/ATLAS be much less than that predicted by comets, it may be the result of active maneuver. The Webb and terrestrial telescopes have the capability to detect such deviations by making high-precision parallax measurements.
11. The Debate Over Anomalies
Other researchers like Princeton’s Josh Winn warn against giving low probabilities to post-factum identified anomalies and suggest that predictive tests of the technological hypothesis should be taken. Loeb counters that rogue events, in their turn, are an unexpected occurrence and must be studied without prejudice to any known explanation. He appeals to the golden rule of Darwin to observe contrary facts immediately to prevent the selective memory.
12. Anti-Tails Historical Context.
The critics observe that anti-tails that are sunwards have been observed in comets like Kohoutek and C/2014 UN271, which are developed by the gradual discharge of great particles of dust. Loeb still argues that the sustained, narrowly collimated, anti-tail and specific rotational alignment of 3I/ATLAS has never been sustained before, and is done so in an unprecedented manner.
As 3I/ATLAS heads towards the outer solar system, future spectroscopic observations of its anti-tail material can be used to tell whether its anomalies are results of exotic natural processes- or interstellar engineering.
