Mysterious comet 3I/ATLAS continues to baffle the world’s brightest boffins – and the latest development has only fuelled theories that it’s alien-related.
It has been under constant scrutiny since it was first spotted in July, as its sheer existence is a pretty huge deal.
3I/ATLAS is only the third interstellar object from outside our solar system ‘to be discovered passing through our celestial neighbourhood’, according to NASA.
And although the US space agency insists it ‘poses no threat to Earth and will remain far away’, other experts reckon that we can’t rule out the possibility of something stranger being afoot.
Harvard physicist Avi Loeb has been spearheading this argument and previously suggested there is a 30 to 40 percent chance that the comet was not a ‘naturally formed’ object and could possibly have ‘active intelligence’.
The first image obtained of 3I/ATLAS when it was discovered back in July (NASA)
Loeb told LADbible that he had noticed qualities about the interstellar object which ‘could be related to a power supply that is not natural, that is technological in origin, some kind of an engine’.
It’s unusual behaviour over the last few months – such as 3I/ATLAS growing a tail and an anti-tail and astronomers detecting a ‘radio signal’ from it – has only added fuel to the fire.
Other bizarre attributes include its strange colour, as well as its sudden change in trajectory and speed – while earlier this week, we were informed that 3I/ATLAS also has a ‘heartbeat’.
Loeb has claimed that 3I/ATLAS has been seen dimming itself before brightening, like a pulse.
He believes that the comet has jets pulsing out of it at intervals of 16.16 hours, which he reckons could be a sign that an alien propulsion system is trying to steer the object. Mental.
And now, a NASA astrochemist has revealed that it is leaving a trail of carbon-rich chemical compounds in its wake – which are key ingredients to create life.
Dr Martin Cordiner and his team at the Goddard Space Flight Center made an interesting observation after scanning the interstellar object with a ridiculously powerful radio telescope known as the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA).
The experts found that 3I/ATLAS is pumping out a large volume of hydrogen cyanide gas, and an even greater amount of gaseous methanol.
Scientists still haven’t got to the bottom of the origin of the interstellar object (NASA)
Explaining the significance of their findings, Cordiner told New Scientist: “Molecules like hydrogen cyanide and methanol are at trace abundances and not the dominant constituents of our own comets.
“Here we see that, actually, in this alien comet they’re very abundant.”
He said that these components are essential when it comes to creating life, noting that the comet is spewing out around a quarter to a half a kilogram per second of hydrogen cyanide and a whopping 40 kilograms per second of methanol… which is a lot more than what’s considered normal for comets in our solar system.
Cordiner reckons that this high rate of production could be down to other chemical reactions taking place, which result in the formation of these molecules.
“It seems really chemically implausible that you could go on a path to very high chemical complexity without producing methanol,” he added.
The presence of the chemicals once again suggests that 3I/ATLAS is no ordinary object – and you never know, Loeb’s hunch might be right.
