Harvard astrophysicist Avi Loeb has shared new insights into the mysterious interstellar object 31/ATLAS, which has recently passed its perihelion—the point in its orbit closest to the Sun. According to Loeb, the Manhattan-sized object is now hidden from Earth’s view as it travels behind the Sun.
A Cosmic Visitor at Perihelion
The European Space Agency (ESA) reported that 31/ATLAS came within 130 million miles of the Sun on October 30, just beyond Earth’s own orbital distance of 93 million miles. “As frozen gases vaporized from its surface, the comet shed dust and ice into space, forming a luminous coma,” said an ESA scientist in a press release.
For now, the comet remains on the far side of the Sun and will stay invisible from Earth until December, when it will reemerge on the other side of its orbit.
See the scientific paper: “Rapid Brightening of 3I/ATLAS Ahead of Perihelion”
Is 31/ATLAS an Alien Spacecraft?
The bizarre journey of 31/ATLAS has stirred both scientific curiosity and online speculation. Loeb, known for his bold hypotheses, has entertained the possibility that 3I/ATLAS might not be entirely natural.
