It’s not every day that a rock from another star system swings by our solar system. And it’s even rarer when a respected Harvard scientist openly wonders if it might be more than just a rock. But that’s exactly what Professor Avi Loeb, a theoretical physicist and astrophysicist at Harvard, is doing.
A newly discovered object known as 3I/ATLAS is currently making its way through our cosmic neighborhood, and while most astronomers see it as another interstellar comet, Loeb isn’t so quick to dismiss the possibility that it may be something more—possibly an artificial spacecraft.
“We should consider all possibilities,” said Loeb. “It could be a comet, a rock, or something engineered by non-human intelligence. We won’t know until we gather more data.”
So what makes this space visitor so different from the countless others we’ve catalogued? The story starts with the object’s strange trajectory—and gets weirder from there.
A Comet With a Peculiar Path
Comet 3I/ATLAS is no ordinary iceball drifting lazily through space. Its path through our solar system is unusually steep and fast, suggesting that it didn’t originate from within our planetary system. It’s traveling on what scientists call a hyperbolic orbit, meaning it’s not just passing through—it’s leaving and won’t return.
But more intriguing to Loeb is how its trajectory behaves near planets like Venus, Mars, and Jupiter. While most comets get tugged along by gravitational forces in predictable ways, ATLAS seems to veer slightly—not drastically, but just enough to raise eyebrows.
“The motion is peculiar,” Loeb notes. “It doesn’t follow the same rules we’d expect from a standard comet. If something appears to be ‘steered,’ even subtly, that’s worth investigating.”
And Loeb has good reason to say so. This isn’t his first cosmic mystery.
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Déjà Vu: Remember ‘Oumuamua?
In 2017, an object named ʻOumuamua entered the solar system. Like 3I/ATLAS, it was also on a hyperbolic path, signaling it had come from interstellar space. Unlike typical comets, ʻOumuamua lacked the gas tail or icy emissions we’d expect. It was cigar-shaped, oddly flat, and seemed to speed up slightly after passing the sun—without any visible cause like outgassing.
Loeb co-authored a study in 2018 arguing that ʻOumuamua could be an alien probe, perhaps a light sail driven by stellar radiation. His hypothesis drew both criticism and attention, but he has stood by it, stating that science should not be afraid to explore the unfamiliar—even when it invites skepticism.
“Science is not a dogma,” he said in multiple interviews. “It’s a dialogue with nature. If something doesn’t fit our existing knowledge, we should be excited, not dismissive.”
A Call for Cosmic Humility
Loeb’s stance is not about claiming aliens have visited Earth. It’s about encouraging the scientific community to remain open to the idea that we might not be alone, and that not every unexplained object is just a rock with weird habits.
He compares it to encountering a stranger on the street.
“If you meet someone you’ve never seen before, you don’t assume they’re invisible just because they’re unfamiliar,” Loeb quips. “We should treat space objects the same way.”
In Loeb’s view, the universe is vast and teeming with potential for life, and the idea that Earth holds a monopoly on intelligence is, frankly, short-sighted. With billions of planets in habitable zones around other stars, the odds seem to favor company.
The Need for a Cosmic Threat Scale
Loeb has proposed an intriguing idea: a “Richter scale” for alien technology. Just as we measure earthquakes by their severity, he believes mysterious space objects should be assessed based on how likely they are to be of technological origin.
- Zero would represent a completely natural object, like a standard asteroid or comet.
- Ten would signify a clear, artificial behavior—such as an object actively changing direction, emitting signals, or showing signs of design or propulsion.
“We need a rational way to evaluate the risks and responses,” Loeb explains. “If we ever do encounter something technological, we need a framework ready.”
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Skepticism in the Scientific Community
Not everyone agrees with Loeb’s approach. Many astronomers argue that invoking alien technology is a last resort, not a first hypothesis. Critics suggest that there are still many natural explanations for cometary motion and that unusual behavior may simply reflect our limited understanding of interstellar objects.
That said, Loeb isn’t without supporters. Some scientists agree that unusual data deserves unusual scrutiny, and a growing number of researchers are becoming more vocal about the need to take alien technology seriously as a scientific possibility, especially as our detection methods become more sophisticated.
ATLAS Is No Threat—But Still Fascinating
NASA has weighed in on the matter, emphasizing that 3I/ATLAS poses no danger to Earth. It’s expected to come closest to the sun on October 29, after which it will continue its journey out of our solar system.
But even without the threat of impact, its presence is a valuable scientific opportunity. Interstellar objects like ʻOumuamua and ATLAS are rare windows into other solar systems. They can teach us what space debris looks like elsewhere in the galaxy—and perhaps hint at technological artifacts, if they exist.
A Growing Field: Searching for Interstellar Visitors
Loeb recently helped launch The Galileo Project, an initiative aimed at systematically searching the skies for signs of extraterrestrial technology. The project uses data from telescopes, satellites, and even military footage to look for objects that defy conventional explanation.
The project’s mission is clear: bring the study of alien intelligence into the scientific mainstream—away from conspiracy theories and closer to evidence-based investigation.
“Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence,” Loeb admits. “But we won’t find that evidence unless we look.”
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Final Thoughts: An Open-Minded Cosmos
Whether 3I/ATLAS turns out to be a comet with an attitude or something more mysterious, it represents an opportunity to challenge our assumptions about the universe.
Professor Loeb’s message isn’t one of fear—it’s of curiosity. In his view, scientific progress depends on a willingness to entertain even the most far-out possibilities—so long as they are grounded in observation and data.
As we await more information about this cosmic visitor, one thing is clear: the universe still has plenty of surprises left, and we may not be the only intelligent life curious about what’s out there.
“We’re just one house on the cosmic street,” Loeb reminds us. “It would be naive to think we have no neighbors.”
