Interstellar object 3I/Atlas approaches Earth. About this report Published by LiveScience.
3I/ATLAS entered the solar system several months ago and will pass within 270 million kilometers of Earth on Friday, December 19. Most experts consider it an interstellar comet. Harvard astrophysicist Avi Loeb does not rule out the possibility that it is of artificial origin and is a giant alien ship.
3I/Atlas' approach is being closely watched by astronomers and space agencies. In addition, it is monitored by experts from the International Asteroid Warning Network (IAWN), established by the United Nations in 2017. This is the first interstellar object to attract their attention.
Mystery 3I/ATLAS: what is hidden in the comet that could pose a threat to humanity
Avi Loeb suggests that 3I/Atlas is headed for Jupiter. According to his calculations, after the passage of the Sun, the orbit of the object changed and now entered the so-called Hill sphere of the planet. This is the distance the spacecraft must travel to launch the satellite, which must be in Jupiter's orbit.
Avi Loeb is director of the Galileo project, founding director of the Black Hole Initiative at Harvard University, and director of the Institute for Theory and Computation at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics. He is the former chairman of the Department of Astronomy at Harvard University.
In August, senior researcher at the Institute of Solar-Terrestrial Physics SB RAS, professor at Irkutsk State University Sergei Yazev said 3I/ATLAS is not an alien spacecraft.
