The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) has detected a boost in interstellar object 3I/ATLAS’s speed, as it moves toward the Earth.
NASA revealed that humanity’s third-recorded interstellar visitor has changed its predicted path and the phenomenon can not be explained by the Sun’s gravity.
Originally discovered in June, the comet set the record of fastest moving space rock entering our solar system at a speed of 130,000mph and now it has defied the laws of gravity.
After reaching its closest point to the sun on October 29, 3I/ATLAS is now moving at a speed of 152,000mph which NASA believes might be due to the Sun's gravity.
However, experts are unable to figure out the mysterious behavior of the comet as it moved away from the predicted trajectory.
Harvard Physicist Dr Avi Loeb has already warned that it could be an alien UFO. He said that astronomers are still gathering evidence to determine if the object is truly a comet.
He cautioned that the object is only three weeks away from its closest point to Earth, adding, “If the object shows no detectable gas emissions as it nears Earth,” Loeb warned, “its acceleration may be powered by an extraterrestrial engine.”.
As 3I/ATLAS races toward Earth, the United States President Donald Trump has ordered a change in command of the space agency.
He has nominated tech billionaire Jared Isaacman to serve as NASA administrator, the position currently being held by the U.S. Secretary of Transport Sean Duffy.
SpaceX CEO Elon Musk has hailed the name of Isaacman for top position at NASA as he was having an online brawl with Duffy over the latter’s proposal to rely on rival space tech companies for upcoming lunar missions.
