Mysterious object en route to Earth defies comet theory with self-made light

The mysterious object named 3I/ATLAS that came from outside our solar system and is hurtling towards the sun, has once again baffled scientists by producing its own light.

First detected on July 1, the 7 miles wide object is only the third known interstellar object to have been observed after Oumuamua in 2017 and 2I/Borisov in 2019.

According to Avi Loeb, the Harvard astrophysicist, the object dubbed as 3I/ATLAS seems to be capable of generating its own light, resembling a car with turning on its headlight.

The chilling revelation came on the heels of a picture of 3I/ATLAS that NASA clicked through the Hubble Space Telescope and shared on July 21.

However, the source of light is still a mystery wrapped in the layers of unanswered questions.

The light emanating from the interstellar object appeared in the photo as a beaming area focusing the side of the object that faces the sun. The possibility of light has shaken up the comet theory associated with this object.

Until now, it has been considered that the Manhattan-sized fast moving object is a large comet which is approximately 12 miles long.

In the new hypothesis, Loeb explained the origin of glow that could be caused by the dust coming off the object’s surface as it is heated by the sun.

He has further added that the 3I/ATLAS might be an artificial probe, containing a powerful source of energy. This probe is also capable of producing light from a distance of millions away.

Loeb issued a statement: “3I/ATLAS could be a spacecraft powered by nuclear energy and the dust emitted from its frontal surface might be from dirt that accumulated on its surface during its interstellar travel. This cannot be ruled out, but requires better evidence to be viable.”

Loeb and his colleague Eric Keto suggested that if 3I/ATLAS can produce its own light, the supposed comet or “alien probe” could be smaller than the 12 miles initially thought.

They estimated that the object could be as small as 300 feet long until it gets closer to Earth, putting it in a similar size category to Oumuamua.